Deception
by Mistressjessica1028
Summary: Ten years have passed since Bill Compton met his True Death. Where will we find the Viking and the telepath? Things you thought you knew as truth are false. Appearances can be deceiving . . .
1. Blast from the Past

It is nearly four in the morning and the last of the bar patrons have been kicked out. The employees work quickly and quietly to finish their tasks for the evening so they may escape the brooding gaze of the owner. He sits in his chair; his eyes unfocused but they miss nothing. The employees know that he will deal harshly with them if he feels they are not performing their jobs adequately; the smallest infraction could get you fired. His bullshit tolerance is nonexistent. More waitresses have left here crying before the end of their first shift than anyone can remember, and most waitresses do not make it more than a year. The only employee that does not fear the owners is the bar manager, but the other employees just think that is because she's too stupid to know any better. After all, she's somewhere in her fifties, but still dresses like a skank. Her body is emaciated and brittle; her over-bleached hair is streaked with different colors and hangs limply around her face. The only reason the other employees think she is still here is because of her unwavering loyalty to the owners.

The basement door flings open with a resounding bang, startling several of the waitresses that were refilling the cocktail napkin dispensers. There is one word to describe the second owner of the bar: bitch. She looks around the room with her lips pursed, looking to find fault with something. She smirks in contempt before ordering everyone out for the evening. The relieved employees gather their items and scurry out of the bar quickly.

"Another satisfied customer," Pam smirks as she saunters towards the stage. Her hair is styled in a French twist with a few tendrils curled around her face. The elegance of the hair style contrasts with the tackiness of her shredded white and black spandex dress. She's accessorized her outfit with strands of black and white pearls at her neck and wrists.

"Can you believe he wanted to pay me with a credit card?" She rolls her eyes as she stands at the edge of the stage with her hand on her hip. The smirk falls from her lips as she notices Eric's lack of attention. He sits still as a statue on his throne, looking the same as he does every night. His hair is long again, creating a golden curtain around his face. His outfit is the usual combination of black pants, jacket, and shirt over his chiseled body. Every human that steps through the door of Fangtasia wants him, but few ever receive his attention. Eric always had a reputation as a badass Viking vampire, but in the last decade his reputation has only grown because of the indifference and downright hostility he shows the patrons. Very rarely does he satisfy his urges with any of the patrons. Even if he does give in to his baser desires, he treats them as nothing more than a means to an end. The joie de vivre that used to surround him is gone; the fire in his eyes has been snuffed out.

Pam plasters a fake smile on her face as she continues the one-sided conversation. "I was thinking . . . why don't we get away from here for a while? I think we've squeezed every last red cent we can out of Louisiana. Let's move somewhere more exciting. New York, London, hell we could even go back to Stockholm if you wanted. I think a change of scenery would do us good."

"No." His flat denial angers Pam and she opens her mouth to fight back, but the outer door opening draws her anger instead.

"We're fucking closed!" Pam turns around with her fangs out and pauses when she sees the two creatures in front of her. "Well, well, well; look what the fang dragged in. I haven't seen either of you in ten years. What the fuck do you want?" She looks with disgust at the outfits they are wearing. "We don't do charity, so if you're looking for money, you can get the fuck out."

"We don't want your fucking money," Willa snaps with her fangs out. "Believe me, this is the last fucking place on earth I want to be in. Do you think I _want_ to ask the two of you for anything?"

"Willa," Jessica steps beside her friend and places a hand on her arm trying to pacify her. Willa snaps her fangs back in place and steps back, allowing Jessica to take the lead on this conversation.

Jessica turns her attention to Pam. She smiles slightly before speaking awkwardly, "It's good to see you Pam."

"Cut the crap Jessica," Pam snaps. "Why are the two of you here?"

Jessica glances nervously at Eric; he still has yet to move from his throne. He looks like the vampire she met the night she rose a vampire; dark, mysterious, and dangerous. But there's a cruelty and sadness about him that was never there before. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she mumbles and backs away.

"Jessica." She stops her movement because of the commanding voice. Eric lifts his head slowly so he can look fully at the two young vampires in front of him. It is true; they have not seen each other in ten years. While he and Pam were building the New Blood Empire, Jessica and Willa had retreated to living quietly in Bon Temps. Eric knew that Jessica was residing in the home of her deceased maker with her human. Eric's eyes slide to his youngest progeny, the one that wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He couldn't blame Willa for her anger. Eric knew he deserved every bit of Willa's hatred. He had tried to make amends when he'd returned to Louisiana after setting up New Blood in Sweden. Eric had met Willa in Shreveport, offering her a portion of the company and the chance to be a maker to her as he should have been all along. Willa had flatly refused and demanded he not contact her again. She wanted nothing to do with Eric, just as he had wanted nothing to do with her after he had turned her.

Eric rose to his feet, slowly walking to his young progeny. "Willa," he says with a sense of wonder and satisfaction in his voice. "I hope everything is well."

"Do you think I'd be here if everything was alright?" Willa looks at her maker as if he is an idiot. "I've told you before; I don't want anything to do with you."

"Then why are you here?" Eric resumes his indifferent mask, dropping the small smile of pleasure that had graced his lips at seeing his progeny. Willa Burrell is one of the more recent mistakes Eric has made in his thousand plus years. Pam fails to realize how weary Eric really feels; his heart and mind are weighed down with his regrets. He is beginning to understand why Godric chose to meet the sun.

Willa stares at her maker defiantly. It's Jessica that finally answers the question that lingers in the air.

"It's Sookie; she's missing."

Eric feels a familiar squeezing in his chest, it is the same sensation he always feels when he thinks of the fairy he once loved. To this day, it still hurts to know that she had rejected him at every turn. He had not spoken with her the night he killed the Yakuza that had threatened her existence even though he knew she had been awakened by the sound of the Yakuza's screams. She had remained in her house with the lights off, but Eric knew her eyes were watching. How he wanted to go to her, reassure her that she was safe, that he would always keep her safe. But he didn't; he cleaned up his mess and drove away with the bodies. After that night, he and Pam were busy establishing their new business, but his thoughts often strayed to Sookie. Eric had insisted on returning to Shreveport even though New Blood was headquartered in Stockholm. As he argued with Pam, they already had Fangtasia in place; the basement would be the perfect place to keep Sarah Newlin and Ginger would care for their prisoner without asking any questions. To appease Pam, he agreed to let her turn Sarah Newlin into a blood whore, but he would not allow her to turn her into an actual whore. Pam may have no qualms about selling Sarah Newlin's blood and body against her will, but he did. There was no honor in rape. Eric was many things, but he was not nor will he ever be a rapist.

But the unspoken reason for their return to Shreveport was Sookie. Eric hoped that with Bill Compton finally out of the picture, that Sookie would come to him. Eric's pride and heart both hurt because Sookie never chose him first, but he wasn't so proud that he wouldn't take her any way he could get her. He would rather be second best in her heart than not have her at all. So he waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. He waited four fucking years and never heard a word from her so he took matters in his own hands. The last time he had approached her was six years ago on Thanksgiving night. Eric had been so nervous to approach Sookie. He had thought about dressing up in a suit and tie, but settled for his normal jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. While flying to the house on Hummingbird Lane, he thought of different ways to start the conversation with Sookie. He decided to be completely honest, laying his heart bare once and for all. Sookie needed to know everything he felt; needed to know that she was the only woman he ever loved. Eric wouldn't lie, there had been women since Sookie, but none of them, not even Nora, had captured his heart the way the tiny fairy had.

Eric landed in the woods near the old farmhouse, confused by all the twinkling lights he saw in the yard. Tables were set up in the yard with lots of people milling about carrying platters of food and drinks as children ran around playing games. Eric watched with fascination as humans, vampires, and Weres took their places around the table, but where was his fairy? This was her home; he couldn't imagine that she would leave it after all this time. The door to the house swung open and Eric felt the breath catch in his throat as he saw Sookie for the first time in four years. However, his joy turned to pure rage as he took in the pregnant state of her body. She walked among the assembled guests, chatting and laughing as she kept a protective hand on her stomach. In that moment, Eric truly hated Sookie as he watched her embrace a man who looked like a cross between Bill and Alcide. He ran away before he gave in to the urge to destroy everything in sight. Eric felt like such a fool; he had waited for something that would never happen. That night had shown him with absolute clarity that Sookie had never loved him, that he never crossed her thoughts. Eric had returned to Fangtasia that night and fucked his way through seven fangbangers, trying to erase the blonde telepath from his mind. From that night forward, Eric was once again the Viking vampire he had been before Sookie Stackhouse had walked into his bar all those years ago. He was cold, ruthless, and cared about no one save himself.

Pam's fury brings Eric back to the present. "Excuse me, but what the fuck?! That fucking fairy twat has been nothing but a bad memory. She's been gone from our lives for the last ten years, and I say good riddance. If she's gotten herself in trouble again, it's not our fucking problem!"

Willa rounds on Pam, her fangs out and her hands curled into claws. Before she can attack her vampire sister, Eric vamps in front of Willa. "Enough! Pam's right. Sookie Stackhouse is no longer my concern. She made her choice years ago and it was not me. I am no longer willing to come running when she's in need of my help." Willa's fangs retract as she stares at her maker with disgust. She turns on her heel and stomps out of the bar, slamming the door behind her.

Jessica is slower to make her exit. Something doesn't sit right with her. She turns back to look at Eric who has not moved from the spot where he stood over Willa. He stares at her with cold, lifeless eyes, and Jessica shivers a bit in fear.

"You say Sookie didn't choose you. So if you meant nothing to her, then why did she name her son Eric?"

Jessica drops that bombshell and slips out of the bar quietly. She and Willa have wasted enough time at Fangtasia. They need to find Sookie before it's too late.

Eric stands rooted to the spot unable to believe exactly what it is he just heard. Why would Sookie have named her son after him? It made no sense. She hadn't wanted him; she'd never contacted him after Bill met his True Death. He saw with his own eyes that she'd moved on to live the "normal" life she'd always wanted and lamented never having. Why?

"Fuck," Pam breathes quietly behind him. He turns to stare at her with widened eyes. She decides to go on the offensive, trying to undo all the damage Jessica's parting shot has created. "Are you really going to fall for that bullshit Eric? It's just a trick to get you to go flying off in the night to once again risk your existence to save the undeserving bitch. If the fairy had really missed you all this time, don't you think she would have tried to come see you? Written you a letter? Called you on the phone? Hell, she could have sent a singing telegram for all I care, but she didn't. Never once did she make any attempt to contact you. So don't you dare think about trying to save her ungrateful ass!"

Eric's eyes narrow at his progeny. It isn't the first time she has spoken out against Sookie, but she has only ever been this vehement when she has done something to warrant his anger. Pam follows the sports mantra that the best defense is a good offense. "What did you do?" His voice is measured but Pam can tell that it is with great difficulty that he is controlling his emotions.

"I did what was best for you, for us," Pam says softly. Eric is on her in an instant, slamming her body against the nearest wall as he squeezes her throat. Pam cries out in pain and blood tears form in the corner of her eyes.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"


	2. Betrayal and Lies

"I . . . I did it for you," Pam stutters as Eric's hand squeezes around her throat tighter.

"YOU LIE!" Eric's expression is one of pure rage as he throws Pam's body against the wooden bar top, cracking it down the center.

Pam has not seen this type of rage from Eric since he accused her of freeing Russell Edgington from his concrete prison.

"I'm not lying Eric! I swear it!" Blood tears are falling from Pam's eyes, staining her blonde hair red. "She wasn't any good for you; you nearly died more times in those few years than you have in the entire time I've been a vampire! The two of you together were toxic. I was protecting you . . . I was protecting us!"

"You sicken me," Eric hisses with barely controlled fury. For the first time in his existence, he is contemplating ending his progeny. Pam has gone too far this time. "You want me to believe you did this for my own good, but the only one to benefit from this arrangement was you!" He roars the last part as he flings Pam's body through the air so she slams against the wall behind the bar, smashing bottles of alcohol and glassware. Eric vaults over the bar to stand over his progeny, blood tears of his own falling from his eyes as he uses his boot to grind Pam's body in the broken glass. Pam cries out in pain as shards of glass pierce her skin. The pressure of Eric's booted foot on her spine is so strong that she feels bones in her body snapping.

"For ten years, I have believed that the woman I love turned her back on me, that she wanted nothing to do with me. Do you have any idea what it feels like to have your love turn to hatred? To have something fester inside you for so long that it eats away at everything you are until there is nothing left? _THAT_ is what you have done to me Pamela! I hope you're happy, because you have destroyed me," Eric says quietly as Pam's sobs rise in volume.

He removes his boot from Pam's spine and turns away in disgust, walking towards the entrance of Fangtasia. He stops at the door to issue a warning to Pamela. "If Sookie dies because of this, then you have signed your own death warrant. I will hunt you down, to the ends of the earth if I have to, and stake you myself," Eric vows. The door closes with a bang behind Eric and Pam curls up in a ball crying because she knows she has lost her beloved maker for good.

Eric flies through the air as fast as possible, oblivious to the pain from the wind biting against his skin. His thoughts are focused on the only woman he has ever loved in his nearly eleven hundred years walking this earth. Yes, Pam bears the brunt of the responsibility for keeping him from Sookie, but he shoulders a portion of that blame as well. He assumed from that one glimpse of her life that Sookie was happily married, living the normal human life she had craved once upon a time. If he had taken the time to actually talk to Sookie, how different would their lives have been? Would they have been together? Would they have been happy? Now he'll never know.

Eric drops down to the ground outside the Stackhouse home and gives it a good look. It looks different from the last time he had been here. The house is still the same sunny yellow color he had it painted while Sookie was away in the Fae realm, but the house looks bigger. There are also children's toys scattered behind the house. A newer model SUV sits in the driveway, but that is the only vehicle.

"What are you doing here?" Eric turns slightly to see Willa standing on the path that leads to the cemetery and the old Compton home. The hostility rolls off her in waves and Eric knows she has no reason to trust him.

"I didn't know," he begins simply. "I thought Sookie wanted nothing to do with me," he says forlornly.

Willa snorts with derision. "The Sookie Stackhouse I know has done nothing but love you for eleven years. Even when she was with Alcide I knew she still loved you. When I was mad at being abandoned by my maker," Willa says the word as if it is the vilest curse she can think of, "Sookie would tell me about how you lost both your maker and your sister so close together in time. She said you needed time to heal, and I should be patient. Sookie said you were too _honorable_ to make a child and then abandon her. She said you never gave up on your family."

Eric's eyes close in pain as he listens to Willa's words. His little Southern belle knew him better than he thought. He had needed time to grieve for Godric and Nora; he even needed time to grieve for the death of their relationship. And Eric had planned to return for Willa once his grief was under control, but his illness with Hepatitis V altered his plan. Not that it mattered; Willa had every right to resent him and his abandonment of her. There was nothing he could do to fix it; that's why he'd agreed to release her ten years ago. Eric felt releasing Willa was the only thing he could do to atone for his mistakes.

"I have much to make up for, where both you and Sookie are concerned," Eric tells his youngest progeny regretfully. "And I hope you both will give me the chance, but now is not the time. Our priority is to find Sookie. Can you tell me what happened?"

Willa stares at the person that has hurt her more than anyone else in her short existence. Her human father loved her, but he was blinded by his political ambitions. Eric Northman had entered her life like a tornado: sudden, destructive, and then disappeared without warning. She'd been a naïve, inexperienced girl who thought she was doing something for the greater good. Willa had _trusted _Eric Northman, and he had betrayed and abandoned her. She wanted nothing to do with him, but knew that they needed all the help they could get to find Sookie.

"C'mon. Everyone's gathered at Hoyt and Jess' place. We'll bring you up to speed there, though we don't know much."

The two vampires blur through the cemetery. Willa enters the antebellum mansion with no problem, but Eric is stopped at the threshold. "Willa?"

"Eric?" Jessica moves out of the office looking surprised to see the former Sheriff of Area Five. "I thought you weren't gonna help?"

"It seems I have been misinformed about the events of the last decade. I am here to help find Sookie if you will allow it," Eric says humbly.

"Sure," the red-haired vampire says haltingly. "Hoyt, honey, can you invite Eric inside please?"

Hoyt calls out an invitation for Eric and he walks slowly into the home of his former frenemy. The pretentious decorations that Bill Compton favored have been replaced by a decidedly homey decor. The once grey wallpaper is gone and warm mocha colored walls surround him. The desk is the same but the chairs are now plush ivory wingback chairs. The animal print rugs are gone. Looking in the living room, Eric can see children's toys and shoes scattered among the furniture. Compton had been a stickler for order and cleanliness. My how the times have changed…

Inside the office, Jessica, her husband Hoyt, Willa, Keith, and James are looking apprehensively towards the imposing Viking. Eric regards them with an unblinking stare. How could these four vampires hope to find and recover Sookie? Between the four of them they were barely six hundred years old!

"Thank you for inviting me in," Eric says bowing his head slightly towards the only human in the room. Hoyt swallows and nods his head in return.

"I'm gonna get a few hours of shut-eye," Hoyt says to the room at large. "Lafayette said he'd take first shift with the kids tomorrow, but I know he's gonna need help when they realize Sookie's still gone." Jessica nods her head and kisses him on the lips as he bids good-night to everyone. Hoyt rushes past Eric, uncomfortable in the elder vampire's presence.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Eric asks briskly. The sooner he has all the facts, the sooner he can begin planning how to get Sookie back.

"Sookie was abducted from her home this afternoon around 4:00 pm. Her fear pulled me from my daytime rest," Willa states.

Eric looks at Willa with surprise. "You've given Sookie your blood?"

Willa snaps, "You have a problem with that? It's my blood; I can do what I want with it!"

Eric shakes his head. "No, I don't have a problem with it. But she was infected with Hepatitis V; I am merely concerned with your well-being."

"She hasn't been infected with Hep V for about eight years," James offers. "When she agreed to be the surrogate for Lafayette and me, Dr. Ludwig along with her Fae kin worked to create a cure for her. It was a painful process, but Sookie wanted to go through it so she could carry the baby for Lafayette and me."

Eric closes his eyes in defeat, dreading the answer to his next question but needing to know the answer all the same. "When was she a surrogate for you two?" Eric grits his teeth waiting for James to answer.

"Our daughter Hope will be six years old in December."

_I am such a fool._ Eric's thoughts are nothing but self-castigations as he tries to come to grips with the fact that he is the one responsible for Sookie not having been in his life the past six years.

"You say she was taken in the afternoon. Where was she taken from?"

Jessica answers. "From her home; there are signs of a struggle in the kitchen. It looks like she was preparing dinner. Er . . . her son usually naps in the afternoon."

"Why didn't they get her son?"

"He ran and hid so they wouldn't find him. Sookie taught him to do that as a safety precaution," James says regretfully. "She felt it was necessary given what she's gone through. They have a special phrase that lets Eric, I mean her son . . ." James tries to retract his words but Eric waves it off.

"I know what she named her son," the Viking says softly. His smile is both wistfully and heartbreaking at the same time. "When I was a human, it was tradition to give the male child the name of his father. It would let all know who the child belonged to. It was a sign of honor and respect," Eric says as his voice cracks.

"You're rumored to have lived during the Viking Age. Is that true?" Eric nods his head and James continues with a rueful chuckle. "Well that would explain Sookie's choice of code words. She chose _het potatis_ (hot potato). She said it had to be something no one would use in normal conversation. I guess she's right since it's in Swedish."

Eric nods again in understanding, feeling both happiness and pain at hearing the small ways his former lover was keeping him in her life. "But I still don't understand how … Eric would have been able to get away. The kidnappers should have been able to catch a boy."

All the other vampires share a look before Jessica reluctantly answers Eric's unspoken question. "Eric is . . . special."

Eric draws in a quick breath. "Is he telepathic like his mother?"

"Not exactly," Willa hedges. "His gift is a bit difficult to explain. It's easier to experience it for yourself."

Eric is frustrated. "Where is the boy now?"

"He's sleeping upstairs with the other kids," Jessica says softly. "He knew to run and hide with Willa. She has a light-tight room hidden on Sookie's property and there is an escape route that leads to it from the house. It's come in handy a few times over the last few years."

Eric looks at Willa with an inscrutable expression. He is jealous of the relationship his youngest progeny has with the woman he loves. Willa stares back at him defiantly. She loves Sookie Stackhouse and will do anything for her. Sookie was the only one that really understood everything Willa has gone through in her life as a vampire. Sookie mourned the loss of Tara; they both had parents they loved and despised; and most importantly, she too had been abandoned by the ancient vampire that meant so much to both of them. To Willa, Sookie and her son Eric are her family and she will do anything for them.

James and Jessica share a worried look. They knew going to Eric was going to present problems for Willa, but the younger vampire assured them she would do whatever was necessary to find Sookie. What they hadn't counted on was Eric still having feelings for their telepathic friend. They thought he would refuse them, and if he did help them they thought they would have to bargain for his help. Everyone knew Sookie had tried to contact Eric several times after she had grieved for both Bill and Alcide without receiving a response from him. Jessica had known of the romantic relationship between the fairy and the elder vampire but she didn't know Sookie had still carried feelings for Eric until her son was born. It surprised everyone in their circle of friends when Sookie named her son after the imposing vampire, but Sookie said it was the only name she had considered.

The silence that had descended over the room is broken by a sleepy, voice. "Where's Mama?"

All the vampires turn to look at the tiny child standing in the doorway. Willa rushes to pick the child up, cuddling him in her arms as she looks helplessly at the other vampires in the room for help on how to answer his question.

Eric is mesmerized by the teacup human. He is a miniature version of Sookie with his blond hair, brown eyes, and slight gap between his front teeth. His cheeks are flushed, and his eyes blink rapidly as he tries to clear the sleep from his eyes. The boy is wearing pajamas with Spider-Man on them and he is carrying a stuffed Spider-Man toy in his hand. The child stares at Eric with equal interest. He knows who this is; his mother had shown him pictures before, explaining that if trouble ever came for them, that this vampire was the one his mama trusted the most.

The younger Eric reaches a hand towards his namesake. Eric looks suspiciously at the child but raises his hand for the teacup human to take. The elder of the two looks awestruck as the tiny hand grasps his firmly. Unnamed emotions swirl inside the vampire nearly choking him. As a maker, Eric has experienced pride for both his progeny, but it's more than that. With Sookie, he has felt love, happiness, and completeness. But the feelings that this miniature being elicits in him are more than anything he's ever experienced before.

As the elder Eric struggles to come to grips with his emotions, the younger Eric stares wonderingly at the man his mother has told him stories of. His mama often spoke of a fairy princess that was saved by a brave vampire warrior that risked his life time and time again for her. When Eric had asked his mama why the brave vampire wasn't with the fairy princess now, she would smile sadly and say because she had messed up. Mama always said if you make a mistake you need to say you're sorry, so the young child didn't understand why Mama hadn't told the vampire she was sorry.

"Are you gonna help find Mama?" The younger Eric's lip trembles as he thinks about his missing mother. He'd been so scared earlier when Mama had told him their secret code. She had woken him from his nap; her voice had been filled with fear and urgency. Grabbing his emergency Spider-Man bag, Mama had rushed him into the private passage that would take him to Willa's resting place. Eric had cried as he crawled his way to Willa's resting place which sat underneath the old shed on the property. Willa had been waiting for him with open arms when he opened the hatch to her resting chamber. He wept for what seemed like forever until he'd fallen asleep and woken up in Hoyt and Jessica's home. No one could tell him what happened to his mama. He was scared and sad. The only time those feelings had gone away were when he saw the brave vampire warrior in his mind that his mama had described to him countless times.

If the younger Eric is feeling safe, then the elder Eric is overwhelmed with uncertainty. As if watching a movie, the Viking vampire watched the events of the afternoon playing out in his mind. Except it wasn't his eyes that saw the events of the afternoon, it was through the chocolate-brown eyes staring back at him with absolute trust.

Eric Northman, the Viking vampire feared by the world over, stares at the precocious child with something akin to horror. "What just happened?"

Willa cuddles the child closer to her, ready to defend him with her very existence. "I think he just showed you what his ability is," she says guardedly.


	3. Love Letters

_AN: Many of you have expressed concerns regarding the father of Sookie's son. Let me assure you, the father of the boy has no bearing on this story. Sookie used a sperm donor to become pregnant; she chose a donor that resembled Eric in terms of height, eye color, and hair color. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows for this story. I hope you all enjoy it. I wish I had the time to respond to each and every review, but then I'd never get any writing done. Something tells me y'all would rather have more chapters than responses to your comments._

"What is his gift exactly?" Eric's mind is still reeling with the images he saw. It had been so vivid; the emotions had been so clear. He had felt the fear and desperation as the child hurried to find safety; he'd felt the worry for his mother and a faint echo of something else in his mind, something he couldn't put his finger on.

"Sookie's son can project his thoughts and emotions to others when he touches them," James explains. "He can project his thoughts to all species, but he has to be touching them. He's had this ability since he was a baby; it definitely made things easier for Sookie while he was an infant. Even now, this is Eric's preferred method of communication."

The vampire continues to stare at the child bearing his name without blinking. The younger Eric tries to match the stare but ends up yawning loudly. Willa smiles lovingly at the boy in her arms. "Come on little guy; let's get you back to bed. You're gonna be cranky in the morning and you don't wanna miss the breakfast Lafayette is making. I heard a rumor it might be your favorite," Willa ends in a sing-song voice.

The child nods his little head reluctantly. "Will you come with me?" A pouty lip from the boy accompanies his question and he blinks hopefully at the new vampire in front of him. Eric sees so much of Sookie in that expression that he feels crippled with pain. The child's face reminds the vampire of the Sookie he first saw in Fangtasia more than a decade ago; beautiful, innocent, and he feels the need to protect this boy just as he felt the need to protect Sookie. Eric is powerless to deny this tiny human anything he wants. Yes, he is drawn to the boy because he shares Sookie's DNA, but it is more than that. Eric feels responsible for his namesake. Eric gestures for his reluctant progeny to lead the way. He follows behind Willa, his eyes locked with the eyes of the boy the entire way upstairs to his room. Willa carries young Eric to a bedroom at the end of the hallway where another boy is sleeping soundly. She sets the child on his bed, but he scrambles down, reaching for his bag. The two vampires watch with fascination as the small boy empties everything out of his bag. Finally, the boy pulls a crumpled envelope from the bag and turns to give it to the male vampire.

"Mama told me to give that to you if she was ever in trouble. She said you would know what to do," he said with absolute trust in the older vampire. Before the elder Eric can say anything in response, Sookie's son has his arms wrapped around his legs in a tight hug. Eric places a hand against the boy's head, not knowing what to say. How could Sookie still have faith in him after ten years of no communication? How could she still trust him?

Eric leaves the room as Willa gets the child settled in bed. He needs somewhere private to read Sookie's letter and he needs to investigate her home. He doubts the others knew what to look for if they had found anything. Eric can only hope that the others haven't destroyed any evidence he might have found. Moving swiftly down the stairs, he pauses at the office door to let the others know he is going to Sookie's.

"Wait! We'll come with you," Jessica says as she moves towards the door.

"No. Stay here," Eric commands. "Guard the boy. If I find anything I will let you know."

"Are you sure it's safe?" James remains seated but he glances worriedly at the Viking vampire.

Eric nods his head. "If the kidnappers wanted her son, they would have come here or her brother's looking for him. Where is Jason by the way?" The elder Stackhouse sibling was not without his flaws, but his concern and his protectiveness of his sister were among his more admirable traits. Eric cannot believe the male Stackhouse is not pulling a Rambo looking for his sister.

"He's not in the state," Jessica offers. "He took Bridget and the girls to visit her parents. We called him earlier. Jason's going to leave Bridget and the girls with her parents. He couldn't get any flights yesterday; he'll begin the trip home today. Jason said he's gonna try to contact Niall, their great-grandfather, to see if he can help."

Eric looks confused. "I thought Sookie and her brother were the only ones left."

Willa returns in time to answer her maker's unspoken question. "Niall Brigant is Sookie's Fae great-grandfather. Jason and Sookie both have a way to contact him in case of emergency, but I don't know how quickly he will respond. He doesn't spend all of his time in this realm."

And the hits just keep coming for Eric. He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose as if in pain. "Niall Brigant, Prince of the Sky Fae, ruler of the Fae realm, is Sookie's great-grandfather? So that means Sookie and her son are Fae royalty? Fuck," he mutters emphatically. As if the situation wasn't already dire, now it's a hundred times worse. Sookie might not even be in this realm; she could have been taken by some Fae asshole again! Without further ado, Eric vamps out of the Compton house, making his way towards the Stackhouse home.

He pauses by the cemetery, searching for any fresh Fae scents lingering since the graveyard has acted as a portal in the past. Eric detects nothing out of the ordinary, only the faded essences of human mourners. It does not escape his notice that there is a new plant on the grave of William Compton: forget-me nots. Eric is left to ponder if it was Sookie or Compton's progeny that did that. Knowing Sookie, he would put his money on her. Then again, does he really know Sookie anymore? Much has changed in ten years; things he thought to be true turned out to be lies. How many lies are actually truths? Eric had thought Sookie had settled down with some random human to have a pack of brats and live a boring, normal human life. Look how wrong he turned out to be! His beautiful Sookie was a single mother of a little boy that bears his name. Eric had thought Sookie had rejected him for good; instead she seemed to love him still.

Still in the graveyard, Eric pulls the crumpled envelope out of his inner jacket pocket with a heavy sigh. His fingers trace over Sookie's looping style of writing. Her handwriting fits her personality; big, bubbly, and beautiful. He brings the envelope to his nose, inhaling deeply. Sookie's scent clings to the material and Eric releases a shuddering breath. Swallowing painfully, Eric carefully opens the envelope to read whatever message Sookie had left him. He does not know what to expect as he unfolds the pages gingerly.

_My Dearest Eric,_

_If you are reading this letter, then it means something has happened to me and the others have gone to you for help. I'm sorry to involve you in my troubles yet again. I had hoped that our first encounter after years apart would be due to a more joyous occasion, but I expect given our history that would be too much to ask for._

_I am sure you have many questions and even fewer answers. Again, I am sorry I'm not there to explain everything myself, but perhaps this is for the best. You and I were never very good at communicating with one another. Too often we left things remain unsaid when we should have talked things over. I'll take full responsibility for that one. I was always too scared to tell you the truth, too afraid to let you know the most intimate of details of what I was feeling. Well here goes . . ._

_I love you Eric Northman; I think I began to love you on that rooftop in Dallas when you begged for Godric to stay with us. Why else would I have been so hurt to see you in that basement with Yvetta? Why else would I have felt so betrayed in Jackson and again in Fangtasia? You broke my heart when you made Bill tell me of his lies and betrayal. Not because you forced Bill to tell me the truth, but because I thought you had betrayed me too. When I left for the Fae realm, I was running from all the pain and sorrow I felt. I thought you had known all along what Bill was sent to do and you had let him. Couple with that your actions in regards to me with Russell Edgington . . . what would you have done if you were me Eric?_

_When I returned from the Fae realm, do you know what I saw the night of my return? I saw a man in love, overjoyed to know the woman he loved was safe and had returned home. I saw a man who never gave up on me, a man who bought my home so I would have a home to come back to. I saw_**you**_Eric, and it scared me. You said you wanted everything and I wanted to give it to you; I really did. But what if my everything wasn't enough? What if I weren't enough for you? So I ran from you, and I broke both of us in the process. _

_I want you to know that everyone since you has been a poor substitution for you. No one has been able to fill the void in my heart left by you, not even Bill. He may have been my first love, and I may have let my guilt make me believe Bill and I were meant to be together, but deep down I knew it was always you. I am drawn to you whether I want to or not. Even after all this time, I'm still drawn to you; I still love you._

_By now, I know you want answers; you want to know why I haven't come to you in the last ten years. The answer is I have, many times, but I was never given access to you. I think you know why. But if you need to know more than that, then I ask you to go to the place where we became one; you shall have your answers if you know where to look. Be careful to keep the sun at your back; the item I've left you will help protect you. _

_My fervent wish is that I will get to see you again. But if I do not, please know that I bear you no ill will because of your absence. I know you had your reasons. I can only hope that if I do get to see you again, I will get the chance to tell you what's in my heart._

_I will love you forever._

_Sookie_

Tears of joy and pain fall from Eric's eyes as he cries out in anguish. He places his lips against his lover's name before carefully folding the letter and returning it to its home inside his jacket. With renewed determination, he speeds to the home of his beloved. He **will** find her; he **will** be reunited with her. Failure is not an option. And this time, he is not letting her go!

Eric approaches the farmhouse cautiously, using all of his senses to find if there is danger present. He can detect nothing outside the home, so he climbs the steps leading to the front door. Eric is not normally one to indulge in remembering the past, but he cannot help but be flooded with all the memories, good and bad, he has of spending time with Sookie on these steps. The first time he had come to visit her at her home . . . the night she returned from the Fae realm and he admitted that he loved her . . . the night they finally became lovers . . . the night he'd given her home back to her and she'd rescinded his invitation. . . and the night he'd told her good-bye for good. Everything comes rushing back to him and he staggers under the mountain of emotion he feels. For too long, he has not allowed himself to feel anything; now that he is allowing his emotions free rein, he is powerless against the onslaught.

The front door opens for him and Eric notes the lack of barrier that allows him to move in the house unimpeded. If he had known sooner that he had an open invitation to the house, would he have come in? Or would he allow his pride to get in the way? **When** he gets Sookie back, he will never take things for granted again. She may become irritated with him, but he is going to be like a dog with a bone when it comes to them being open and honest with each other. They have wasted too much time with misunderstandings and dishonesty.

The signs of a struggle are present in both the kitchen and the living room as is the smell of blood. Upon closer inspection, Eric determines the blood is not Sookie's; it does belong to a Were though. It has a slight wild flavor to it that characterizes the blood of the two-natured. The scent of the two-natured also hangs heavy in the air, but it does not go beyond the first level of the home. He had expected nothing less, but Eric is frustrated by the lack of clues about who took Sookie. His eyes settle on the armoire that sits in the corner of the living room, the faux cabinet that signifies the entrance to what used to be his cubby.

_Go to the place where we became one; you shall have your answers if you know where to look._

Sookie's letter directed him to the cubby. Moving slowly towards the cabinet, Eric looks for any indication the cabinet has been tampered with. It would be easy for someone to rig a stake or gun to shoot out when the doors are opened. Using his speed, Eric flings the doors open and uses the open door as a shield. However no booby traps are waiting for him. He descends down the ladder and looks around with interest. The room is still as sparsely decorated as it had been the last time he was here. He searches the table and underneath the bed, but can find nothing.

_Be careful to keep the sun at your back; the item I've left you will help protect you._

This is the part of the letter that made no sense to him. Why would he keep the sun at his back? He cannot go out in the sun. His eyes are drawn to a red blanket folded in the far corner of the room next to the table. Why would Sookie leave a blanket lying on the ground? Eric looks at the blanket more closely. His eyes widen and he chuckles with humor. His Sookie is a clever girl; she chose something that only the two of them would know the meaning behind. The blanket is the one she used to cover him when he started to burn in the sun after draining the fairy. The wolf had been the one to tell him to keep the sun at his back. Spreading the blanket wide, Eric expected something to be hidden in the folds, but there is nothing. But his keen eyesight detected a tiny lock in the floor that had been covered by the blanket. Eric inspects the lock closely; it is in a stainless steel reinforced floor. No one can easily break into whatever is hidden behind the lock. Sookie wouldn't have left him the blanket if it did not have more importance. Upon careful inspection, Eric finds a key sewn in the padding of the blanket. Placing the key in the lock, Eric turns it slowly until it clicks. The floor rises to reveal a hidden chamber containing stacks of letters and several leather-bound journals. Pulling the items out of the floor, Eric glances at the postmarks on the envelopes; they go back ten years. Glancing through the journals, Eric finds the first entry is from the night Compton met his True Death; the most recent entry is from the previous evening. Eric skims the most recent journal entry and ends up punching his fist repeatedly against the stainless steel wall of the cubby, denting the wall, as he roars in anger.

Pamela has a lot of explaining to do before he sends her to her True Death.


	4. A United Front

Eric's rage is a living, breathing entity that exists within him; furthermore he has no one and nothing to direct his rage at. A great deal of his fury is directed towards Pamela; that selfish cunt has gone too far this time. Eric thought her willingness to give Sookie to Russell Edgington and then firing the rocket launcher during the standoff with Marnie were bad, but he knew those actions were because Pam was trying to keep him among the undead. But his existence isn't in danger; it hasn't been in danger since he killed the last of those fucking Yakuza shits on Sookie's lawn ten years ago. So Pam had no reason to keep Sookie and him apart other than her own petty jealousies. Pam has always needed to feel as if she were the most important thing in Eric's life. From the night she rose a vampire, Pam has been inordinately attached to her maker. A child is supposed to be attached to their maker, but Pam's attachment and dependence on Eric go beyond the norm. Pam has always been quick to become jealous and spiteful if she felt he was forming an attachment to someone other than herself. That is why he never told her of his maker or sister. Eric knew Pam would not be able to handle that he cared for others beside her; that his affection for Godric and Nora outweighed the feelings he had for her.

A child is supposed to eventually want to leave their maker's side, they are supposed to want to venture out on their own and eventually become makers themselves. Pam has never had the desire to go out on her own. Even after being released and becoming a maker herself, Pam's first priority was always her maker. Eric loved his maker – he loves and misses him still – but even he had wanted to strike out on his own. Godric understood that and let him go his own way after nearly a hundred years together. As much as Eric enjoyed the time apart, he still yearned for Godric's companionship. So they would travel together off and on throughout their history, but even when they were apart they were never far from one another. Their longest separation had been from World War II until Godric went missing in Dallas.

After Dallas is when Pam's jealousy towards Sookie first reared its ugly head. Eric's anguish at losing Godric was too much for him to keep out of the maker/child bond, even though he had tried to shield it from Pam. Her first reaction to Eric's explanation that his maker had met the sun was met with her fury, as if she was enraged that he cared for someone other than her, but she quickly changed her attitude when she saw how devastated Eric was. Pam tried to console him, but he wanted nothing from her. She had not known Godric; she did not share Eric's grief at the passing of his maker. But Sookie did. Sookie had cried for the loss of Godric, and she'd tried to comfort Eric with that simple gesture of touching his hand on the roof. She'd stayed with Godric until the end to make sure he did not meet the sun alone. Those actions meant more to Eric than anything; that morning on the rooftop in Dallas is when Eric Northman fell in love with Sookie Stackhouse. He'd grieved deeply the morning his maker met the sun, not even bothering to succumb to the pull of the sun. Eric had wanted to share his pain with someone, and he instinctively knew the blonde spitfire would understand his feelings. He had longed to have Sookie come to his room so they could grieve together, but she had not. And that hurt him deeply though Eric would not admit it to anyone but himself. In the aftermath of Dallas, when someone mentioned Godric, Pam's emotions were equal smugness and disdain, something Eric could not tolerate. Pam thought Sookie Stackhouse was the reason Eric began to distance himself from her; in truth, it was Pam's malevolent attitude towards his maker and eventually towards Nora as well.

Eric senses another vampire approaching the house and his blood tingles with the awareness that it is someone of his bloodline. So help him, if Pam has followed him here she will rue the day she had become a vampire! He vamps out of the cubby and out of the house to stand on the porch to see who the intruder is. His aggressive stance and fangs disappear when he sees Willa standing hesitantly in the yard, shifting from one foot to the other. She is worried for her friend and asks hopefully, "Did you find anything?"

"I found nothing to indicate who took Sookie," he says quietly and Willa's shoulders sag wearily. "I found her letters and journals. Her last journal entry indicates she knew something wasn't right. She could sense people watching her and her son. Did you know she tried to contact me as recently as two days ago asking for help?"

Willa places her hands on her hips and glares at me. "Of course I did, but you couldn't be bothered to help her. Just like you couldn't be bothered to talk to her at any time over the last ten years! Rather than deal with her yourself you always have your sidekick do it for you!"

Eric bellows in fury before he vamps to Willa to pin her body against the nearest tree. She tries to struggle in his arms, but she is no match for the vampire one hundred times her age. Eric's fangs glow in the darkness as he snarls his response. "I have **NEVER **refused to see Sookie! I would have welcomed her with open arms if she had tried to see me. All I have **EVER**wanted was for Sookie to love me as I love her!"

Willa stares incredulously at her maker. "How could you possibly not know Sookie was trying to contact you all these years?"

"Pam," Eric spits out as if it is the vilest word he can think of. "She handles the day-to-day correspondence. She only forwards those items she thinks need my immediate attention."

"OK, I can see how she kept Sookie's letters from you, but what about phone calls? Hell, I know Sookie even when to Fangtasia a few times early on. How the hell could you not have known she was there?" Willa is reluctant to believe that Eric is completely blameless in his estrangement with Sookie. She watched Sookie cry copious amounts of tears over her maker. Willa couldn't understand how Sookie continued to love Eric even though it appeared he had scorned her affections. It was another reason Willa hated her maker. In her eyes, Sookie had suffered more than her fair share of tragedies; Willa felt her friend was entitled to a happily ever after.

"We have security at Fangtasia to control the crowds. It's entirely possible Pam was working the door the nights Sookie tried to see me. Perhaps Pam glamoured the human staff; I just don't know," Eric says wearily. He releases his hold on Willa and moves a few feet away. His hands are fisted in his pockets and he stands with his head thrown back looking at the moon and stars; the only constant companions he has had for his entire existence.

"I know you don't want to believe me," he begins softly, "but I genuinely love Sookie Stackhouse. I have been willing to die for her; I've stayed away when she said she wanted a normal life. I even stepped aside when Bill was infected with Hep V. I would have given him the cure just so Sookie wouldn't have to suffer. In all my life, human and vampire combined, she is the only woman I have truly loved," Eric admits without a trace of his usual bravado. He has stripped himself bare so Willa will know the truth of his words. "I loved my maker and sister; I still mourn their losses. I have loved Pamela as my child. But the love I feel for Sookie eclipses all of them."

"But you never loved me," Willa says bitterly.

Eric sighs deeply, regret etched in every line of his handsome face as he looks at his orphaned progeny. Willa's stance is both hostile and defensive as if she is preparing for a blow. Eric wishes his next words will not cause Willa any pain, but he knows that is a futile hope. "No, I do not love you," he admits honestly.

Willa's head snaps to the side as if physically struck and a small gasp escapes her lips. Eric wants to comfort Willa but knows she will not be receptive. "To be fair though, I do not know you Willa. I know the maker/child bond creates feelings of devotion in the progeny. It is to ensure the child is receptive to the teachings of the maker. Our beginning was under less than ideal circumstances," Willa's snort of derision interrupts Eric's explanation and he is forced to smile hearing it. That's something Willa has picked up from Sookie; it reminds Eric of how close the two women are. He continues with a small smile softening his features. "I want to get to know you Willa. The traits I saw in you that led me to believe you would be an excellent vampire are still there, but I want the opportunity for us to come to some sort of understanding. Eternity is far too long for you to carry a grudge; it will eat away at you, consume you, and destroy everything else about you. Let me have the chance to show you all the lessons my maker taught me," Eric pleads.

Willa looks indecisive. Part of her yearns to accept Eric's words; she wants to know her maker. She wants affirmation that her existence was not a mistake. At the same time, there is the wounded part inside her that wants to scorn Eric; there is a part of her that demands she make Eric suffer just as she has suffered without a maker to guide her.

"I don't know what I want," she admits truthfully. "Right now all I can focus on is finding Sookie and making sure her son is taken care of."

"Of course," Eric replies. His body is screaming in warning; dawn is close. Eric looks at the lightening sky with contempt. The daylight hampers everything he needs to accomplish. "You need to seek shelter. Dawn is fifty-one minutes away," he says to his progeny.

"What about you?"

"I will return to one of my safe houses. There are things I need to arrange before dying for the day. Are you sure your resting place is secure? You are more than welcome to go to one of my homes if you wish."

"No, I'll be ok. Will I see you tonight?"

"I am not sure. Pamela and I need to have a little chat this evening," Eric says ominously before taking flight.


	5. The Plot Thickens

Eric arrived at the safe house he'd had built on the outskirts of Bon Temps when he'd returned to the area after launching New Blood. The house had been built in the hopes that Sookie would turn to him; he had stayed her several times early on just to feel closer to her. Pam didn't even know about this house, which was exactly why he chose this house today. He didn't want her to find him; he wasn't ready to deal with her rationality yet. Eric still could not understand why she needed to be the only person in his life that he cared about. It wasn't as if there was a romantic type of love between them; they had not had that type of relationship in decades nor did either of them have that type of desire for one another. If those types of feelings had been there, they would have resurfaced after he had been cured of Hepatitis V. But they did not. If a label had to be put on their relationship, it was closer to that of a father and daughter with overtones of brothers in arms. Soldiers often form a special bond with those in their unit because of similar experiences and having survived under extreme circumstances. Eric and Pam had been through so much together, survived so much together, that it was inconceivable they would not have been close. Pam could never have been replaced in his affections; she knew that. So why was she so jealous of Sookie and Willa to a lesser extent? Neither of them could have replaced the hundred plus years Eric and Pam had shared. It all boiled down to Pam being a heartless, selfish bitch. And Eric was not going to put up with it any longer.

Moving to the secure underground chamber, Eric gently placed the letters and journals from Sookie on his bedside table. Opening the drawer of the nightstand, Eric removed a picture that he had not looked at in a very long time. It was a picture of Sookie that he had taken from her home when he had renovated it. He doesn't know how old she is in the picture, but she was absolutely stunning in it. Sookie was lying on a lounger out in the sun, her body only covered by a tiny white biking with red cherries scattered on the thin white scraps of fabric. Her left arm was thrown carelessly over her head and her eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses that reminded Eric of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Despite the beauty of her body on display in her beloved sun, it was actually Sookie's smile that drew Eric to this picture. She looked positively blissful; there was not a care in the world on her face. It was a carefree look that Eric had never seen on her face. He had hoped that one day it was a look he would be able to see, that he would have been the reason for that smile.

A blood tear falls on the glass covering the image and Eric quickly wipes it off. "I will find you my love. I will search until the end of my days if necessary," Eric vows fervently as he sets the picture besides Sookie's memoirs. He moves to his desk and boots up the laptop that he has in all his homes. Even though Eric has not set foot in this home in years, he has made sure that all necessary electronics and security measures were up to date. Logging into his server, Eric waits to have confirmation that his connection was secure. He was calling in favors from contacts all over the world; he is doing whatever it takes to find Sookie.

Eric sent hundreds of emails in dozens of languages in a matter of minutes. He was calling in all the allies, contacts, and friends he had made in his millennia of existence. Eric was desperate, so he was also calling in the contacts that had been loyal to his maker.

While he was sending his emails, his cell phone rang with a blocked number. It wasn't uncommon to see blocked numbers from his associates; they preferred to have their anonymity. Eric answered in his traditional brisk manner. "Northman."

"She's quite beautiful. I can see what drew you to her, though I am surprised you were able to stay away from her so long," a nondescript male voice says through the receiver. If it were possible, Eric's blood would have run cold with fear.

"Why did you take Sookie?"

"To get your attention," the voice says with a chuckle. "I needed to make a statement, something with pizzazz, showmanship," he says with glee.

"I still do not understand why you took Sookie," Eric says calmly though his fingers are crushing the material of his desk. A piece of the wood breaks off in his hand and he crushes it to a pulp in his hand, watching as the shavings fall to the floor.

"She has been involved in this from the beginning. It is only fitting she be involved in its end."

Eric says through gritted teeth, "And how does this end?"

"With you losing everything you love," he says with a maniacal laugh. "It has already started. You no longer trust Pamela. Not that I blame you," the voice says with mock sympathy. "She has been a key figure in my plans though she knew nothing about them. If she hadn't kept you and Sookie apart, then I wouldn't have had time to refine my plan. But now I've grown impatient; truly I did not think the two of you would have stayed apart so long. Not for lack of trying on her part, but you really do give new meaning to the word stubborn. It must be the Viking influence."

"I have no interest in Sookie Stackhouse," Eric lies which causes the voice on the other end to anger.

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" The composure of the voice on the other end slips and Eric hears a slight accent, which gives Eric a small clue about who he is dealing with. It is not much of one, but Eric can tell the man on the other end is not American.

"If you lie to me, then I will be forced to take my displeasure out on Miss Stackhouse. It would be a shame to mar one as beautiful as her. The pictures I have seen do not do her justice. She literally glows as if lit from the sun. Tell me, does her blood taste like sunshine?"

Eric closes his eyes helplessly as his inner beast roars savagely. If he lies, Eric fears what harm will come to Sookie. If he answers truthfully, will that endanger her as well?

"She tastes like warmed honey," Eric says weakly. "It reminds me of summer days as a child. We would brave the sting of bees to taste the sweet nectar they provided. There was nothing like it," Eric says with a quiet voice and another tear slips down his face.

"Thank you," the voice says with a sigh of satisfaction. "I shall enjoy sampling her unique flavor." The call ends leaving Eric with his body shaking in equal parts fear and fury. His bellow of rage is so loud that the vibration shakes the items hanging on his wall. Several rattle on their holdings and fall to the ground, shattering and splintering on the floor. Eric wants to crush the phone in his hand but he knows he will need it. Sookie's kidnapper may contact him again. It seems as if the voice on the other end wants to hear him suffer, wants to rub salt in the wounds. Eric scrolls through the contacts, searching for the one he needs.

"It's never a good reason when you call me after sunrise," a female voice with a French accent says with resignation on the other end.

"I need your help, Vivienne," Eric says succinctly.

Vivienne is Nora's only surviving progeny. She had been in her beloved France when Nora had met her True Death. As a human, Vivienne had been a Parisian seamstress during the French Revolution. Unfortunately, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Four drunken men had decided she would be their night's entertainment even though she had not been willing. Her battered and broken body was nearly on death's door by the time the jackals were finished with her. Nora and Eric had stumbled across the group of men as they searched for their nightly meal. Nora had gone crazy with rage upon seeing the abused body of Vivienne and quickly killed two of the rapists while draining the third. Eric dealt with the fourth assailant as Nora tried to heal Vivienne's broken body but her injuries were too many. Nora had drained the blood from Vivienne before replacing it with her own. Eric and Nora had carried Vivienne's body to a farm outside of Paris where Godric was waiting for them. For three nights, Godric and Eric had stood guard over the grave, waiting for the newest member of their bloodline to rise. They had fled France after Vivienne rose a vampire, but not before Godric made certain her children were well taken care of. At Vivienne's request, Nora had kept tabs on Vivienne's children, grandchildren, and later generations until Vivienne had made contact with them after the Great Revelation. That is why she chose to stay in France.

When Eric had left America and gone to Sweden, it was Vivienne he had called to help him, not Pamela. They had spoken of what happened to both Godric and Nora. Vivienne had found it hard to believe Nora had fallen under the influence of Lilith's blood; she had always been a protector of women and children. But she had been pleased to know Nora had found her way back to who she really was. Eric had also spoken of all his problems with Pam; he didn't know how to deal with his progeny anymore. Vivienne and Eric had comforted each other as they grieved for the losses of their beloved family members for those two weeks they had been reunited. At the end of their interlude, Vivienne had returned to Paris and Eric continued his tour of the world. She had not heard from him until he was starting New Blood. Eric had offered her 10% of the company's ownership if she agreed to head cyber security. Vivienne had a natural talent for cracking codes and hacking. Her skills had been used throughout both World Wars and more recently by Interpol. Vivienne's skills were unparalleled as far as Eric knew. She recruited those who showed an aptitude for hacking turning them into assets instead of threats.

"Of course you do. Why else would you be calling? What can I do for you oncle (uncle)?"

"I want you to put a trace on my phone. Record all calls. I need to know where the calls are coming from. Run security on all the systems. Check to see if we have been breached. Someone has far too much information on me and my existence in the last ten years," Eric says darkly.

The voice on the other end is silent a moment as she processes all the information Eric has just given her. "Do you suspect someone on the inside?"

"I have to. It's someone that knows how special Sookie is to me, but knows that I have stayed away from her for ten years. Sookie was abducted Vivienne; I need to get her back."

"Mon dieu," Vivienne says emphatically on the other end. "What else do you need Eric?"

"Ten years ago, the Japanese were able to find Sarah Newlin using their technology. You should be able to find Sookie using the same techniques," he says with resolve.

"That was an entire government . . ."

"And you're the best hacker in the world as you are fond of telling me. Do you suddenly doubt your talents systerdotter (niece)?"

"No oncle," Vivienne says with confidence. "I could use some help on this."

"Whatever you need," Eric reassures her. "Money is not an issue. This is your top priority."

"Very well; I will call you or Pam with my findings."

"You will call me only," Eric says forcefully. "I want all of Pam's access revoked; no bank accounts, no business access, nothing!"

"Really? What's daddy's little girl done to piss you off now? Did she decorate your resting chamber with Thor and Loki paraphernalia?" Vivienne's tone is filled with amusement as she teases her maker's blood brother.

"She has betrayed me for the last time," Eric says coldly.

Vivienne remains silent as she lets Eric's words hang in the air between them. She finally responds in a soft tone. "I understand. Anything else?"

"Have Thalia and Freyda on a plane to Shreveport. I want them here tonight." Eric ends the call having nothing further that he needs from Nora's progeny.

With everything accomplished that he set out to do, Eric settles on his bed and picks up the stack of letters all addressed to him. The earlier letters had been addressed to Fangtasia and they were marked return to sender. Eventually the letters had stopped being sent, but she continued to write him. Eric set the letters aside and reached for the journals, starting with the one dated as the night Compton met his True Death.

_Tonight I staked the first man I'd ever loved, the man I had at one point thought I would spend the rest of my life with. So many emotions are going through me. But I think the one that is the most prevailing is devastation. It's not because I was the one to end Bill's existence; it's because I finally realized that I meant nothing to him. If he loved me as he claimed, he would have not asked me to give up my light. Bill has often claimed to do things because it is what is best for me. But shouldn't_**_I_**___be the judge of what is best for me? Whenever I'd disagreed with Bill he would do one of three things: (1) say it was vampire business, (2) belittle my human abilities, or (3) he would become angry and ignore me. Tonight he tried a new tactic: guilt. He tried to guilt me into agreeing with him, and a part of me wanted to give in to his last wish. But it must have been Fairy Sookie, as Eric calls her, which made me keep my light. _

_I killed Bill Compton, pushing the jagged edge of the shovel handle in his flesh to pierce his silent heart. His body exploded under mine and I howled in agony at the injustice of it all. Bill and I had finally reached a point in our relationship where we were being honest and open with each other. I know we had reconnected sexually, but it wasn't a sexual attraction that sent me running into Bill's arms. It was about comfort, companionship, and love. Not that burning, all-consuming fire of passionate love, but the kind of love that comes from someone that's always been there. I can't really explain it, but I know that when I say that I loved Bill Compton, I know he wasn't my soul mate, he wasn't my heart's greatest desire._

_As I'd climbed out of that grave, I'd prayed Eric would be there to comfort me, hold me, and tell me everything would be alright. I wanted him to walk me home under the moonlight once again and keep me safe. My heart and soul yearn for him even now. My heart broke when Eric said good-bye to me the other night because there was a note of finality to it. I don't want to be without him in my life. He just came back; I don't know if I can survive him leaving me too. _


	6. Nowhere to Run

Eric rose the next evening feeling as frustrated and hurt as when he had finally succumbed to his daytime rest. He had read as much of the first journal as he could, though he was careful to make sure none of the blood from the bleeds tarnished the pages. Part of him felt as if he was intruding on Sookie's privacy, but she had obviously wanted him and him alone to find these items. For the first time in all these years, Eric felt as if he finally understood the mystery that was Sookie Stackhouse. She'd left nothing untouched in her writing. The entries after the first one dealt with the feelings she felt over Bill Compton's True Death, a mixture of guilt, freedom, sorrow, and relief. Eric could understand the guilt and sorrow, but it was the freedom and relief that shocked him. In her own words, Sookie had come to realize that her sick carousel cycle with Bill would never end as long as one of them still existed. For as much as they tried to stay apart, they were inexplicably drawn to one another. Sookie had theorized it was because of the nostalgia she held for him because he had been her first everything. In her looping scrawl, Sookie had written wistfully that most women moved away or grew apart from their first love, but she never got that with Bill. Something always forced the two of them into close proximity with each other and it inevitably led to a rekindling of the feelings between them. Sookie had even written that although she was with Alcide, she'd felt a stirring to be with Bill while they had searched for the Hep V vamps. Sookie equated it to alcoholism, an addiction that she constantly fought against but kept relapsing despite her better judgment.

In addition to her musings about Bill, Sookie addressed the history of our own relationship. It was eye-opening to read her take on things. She had seemed to fixate on the wrong parts of our conversations when the situations were occurring in real-time, but with distance and perspective she had a whole new idea about how things had played out between us. Sookie still referred to me as a high-handed, smug, sarcastic ass but at least I read it as an endearment and not a condemnation.

As Eric reviewed his email and listened to his voice mail messages, his mind drifted back to the night he first saw Sookie Stackhouse. If there was only one word he could use to describe Sookie that night it would be fresh. She was a breath of fresh air in what had become a stale existence. Eric remembered she had likened Fangtasia to a ride at Disneyland. Eric had scoffed at her naïvety. How could anyone view the world with that much innocence? But her scent, blood, and manner were all refreshing; they were nothing like the chemically altered, emaciated rubbish that Eric was used to at Fangtasia. Discovering that she was telepathic was an added bonus as far as Eric was concerned. He wanted Sookie because she represented a fresh start in his otherwise boring existence.

Sookie and Eric never had the opportunity to simply get to know one another. Why had he listened to Pam when she reminded him that Sookie claimed to be Bill's? Eric could smell that she had been an innocent, so he knew that declaration had been false. He had allowed Pam to influence his initial behavior when it came to Sookie. Pam had said it would make him seem over eager if he sought Sookie out, so he had waited until he had need of her telepathic abilities. It had enraged him to find that her innocence was gone. Eric had been prepared to sweep Sookie off her feet that night, to show her that he was the vampire meant for her. He had allowed his feelings of anger to mar his interactions with Sookie that night, making him try to frighten her into submission. Instead, she had held her ground, showing him the fire and spirit that bewitched him. Eric had suspected Long Shadow of the theft before Sookie had even read any of the humans on his payroll, but seeing him attack the woman he wanted had him nearly going into berserker mode. Having Bill stake Long Shadow had been a blessing and a curse; it was a blessing because he knew Bill would be punished by the magister and the punishment would be severe; it was a curse because it made Bill seem the hero to Sookie. Seeing her covered in the blood of his enemy had Eric fighting his every instinct not to lick her clean while fucking her for the rest of the night.

The closest Eric and Sookie had to a normal relationship was when he was without his memories, but even then they had to deal with a multitude of threats. Who knows where they would be today had they ever been given the time to get to know each other, to grow as a couple? How different their worlds might have been? It saddens Eric to realize that all of this could have been avoided if two stubborn brigs had put aside their pride for a moment and said what they were really feeling, asked questions instead of making assumptions. Eric brushes his thumb across the picture of Sookie he kept in his hand while he rested for the day, vowing to never again let there be a lack of communication between them.

A new email from Vivienne arrives letting Eric know that Thalia and Freyda will be arriving in Shreveport by midnight. Thalia is a skilled warrior that was turned during the days of the Roman Empire. She had been a close ally of Godric's having known him nearly all of his vampire existence. Thalia had helped Godric to end his own maker, a brutal vampire that used to torture and abuse Godric for sport. However, Thalia had been the one to tell Eric that tidbit, not his maker. The only thing Godric had ever told Eric about his maker is that he would never make him suffer the way his maker had. Eric had always felt indebted to Thalia for helping his maker, and has often aided her when she needed it.

A few decades after Godric had turned Eric, they were joined by Thalia. The three vampires fucked and fed their way through Europe. It was in Scandinavia that Thalia felt the pull to make Freyda, a beautiful brunette that we found in a fishing village near the sea. Freyda was living alone in her hut, having no husband or children to care for. Thalia watched her for several nights, her fascination with the beautiful woman only growing. It completely surprised Thalia when Freyda approached her one night. Freyda said she had felt someone watching her; she wanted to know what Thalia's purpose was. Thalia had been honest with Freyda; she wanted her to be her companion in death as Godric had wanted Eric to be his companion. Even though Godric and Eric included Thalia in everything, she yearned for the closeness and bond that existed between Eric and Godric. Freyda had not been afraid of Thalia; in fact, Freyda had welcomed Thalia's presence in her life. Freyda admitted she had waited for death to take her; she had lost her father and brothers when they had gone to sea and never returned. After Freyda had been turned, the four of us had cut the path through Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. It was only when Godric had turned Nora that Freyda and Thalia had gone their own way for good. Eric had seen the two vampires throughout the centuries, enjoying their attentions when the opportunity arose. It was during Sookie's year in the Fae realm that Eric had last seen Thalia and Freyda. He had contacted them to tell them of Godric meeting the sun. In all his centuries on this Earth, it was the first time Eric had seen Thalia cry.

With his maker and sister gone, Thalia and Freyda were the only two vampires left that Eric trusted completely. Pam has proven that he can trust her no longer and Willa… Eric knew that trust would have to be earned by both for that relationship to grow. However, Eric trusted that Willa would do anything and everything to protect Sookie and her son. It saddens him that his youngest child is the one he will rely on in the coming days and not the one that has been with him for over a century. It is with these thoughts in his mind that Eric leaves his safe house to make his way to Fangtasia. It is time to deal with Pam once and for all.

When Eric arrives at Fangtasia, the only person there is Ginger, the ever loyal bar manager. Ginger preens as always when she sees Eric, hoping for a repeat performance of the best sex she's ever had; sadly that thirty-second ride on the throne has never happened again. However it does not stop Ginger from hoping that one day Eric Northman will favor her with his sexual prowess again.

"Good evening Master," Ginger says reverently as Eric walks towards her.

Eric fights the urge to roll his eyes. The humane thing to do would be to glamour Ginger to forget her association with vampires, letting her resume her life before she had fallen into the trap of becoming a fangbanger. However, Eric fears the amount of glamour that would need would make her an invalid. Eric looks around the room unnecessarily; his instincts have already told him no other vampires are on the premises. "Ginger, where is Pam?"

"I don't know. She left me a message sayin' to open the bar, that she wouldn't be in tonight," Ginger says in her simple way.

Eric seethes in anger and whips out his cell phone. He dials Pam's number but the call goes directly to voice mail. His anger increases by the second as he waits for the infuriating beep. Speaking in a clipped voice, Eric leaves her a message in his native language. "Do you really think you can avoid me Pamela? You cannot run from me; I will always be able to find you. By avoiding me, you are only making this worse for yourself." Eric ends the call, once again fighting the urge to crush the tiny piece of technology in his hand.

Ginger looks worriedly at Eric. "Everythin' OK?"

"No Ginger, everything is not OK," he says with a growl.

Eric closes the bar to the public, but keeps all of his staff working that night. He glamours each and every one of them to tell him everything they know about Pam's plan to keep Sookie and him apart. It is as he thought; the entire staff has been glamoured to keep Sookie or anyone from Bon Temps for that matter, out of Fangtasia. Eric also learns that there is a list of phone numbers containing the home, cell, and business phones for Sookie and her friends in Bon Temps. If any of those numbers called Fangtasia, they were to be routed to Pam if she was on the premises. If not, then they were to hang up on the caller. And all correspondence was given to Pam; if there was a Bon Temps return address, Ginger automatically marked the item as 'return to sender'.

Eric is disgusted to realize how easy it had been for Pam to keep Sookie away from him. Correspondence and phone calls are things he never handled directly because he thought himself above such mundane tasks. And he would have never known if she had physically shown up on the premises; their fledgling blood bond had died out long ago. Nor had he ever caught a faint trace of Sookie's delicious scent. If he had, he would have immediately sought her out. Eric had been a fool; through his indifference, he had been an accomplice in keeping Sookie away from him.

After learning everything he can from the humans, Eric sends them all home. There is nothing more to be learned from them tonight. Ginger in her usual desperate way lets Eric know that she is available for _anything_ he may need, but Eric simply ignores her. He is lost in a sea of recriminations and castigation. He sits brooding on his throne as he contemplated everything he had learned in the last two nights. Eric is no closer to finding Sookie then when all of this started; he doesn't even know where to begin to look. In his thousand plus years of existence, he has made many enemies. There was no way to avoid that. But who would know to attack him by using Sookie? How could they have possibly known she meant something to him? There has been ten years of silence between them. Who could have known of their history? All of the enemies that he and Sookie had faced together were dead: the Fellowship, Russell Edgington, Sophie-Anne, The Authority, Governor Burrell, Warlow, even Bill Compton were no more.

Eric pulls his phone out of his pocket, hurriedly composes an email before dialing Vivienne again. "Vivienne, I need you to look into something for me," Eric says hurriedly once the connection is established. "I have sent you a list of names and organizations that Sookie and I battled together. Check to see if there are any surviving members that would have a vendetta against me specifically. The mystery caller said Sookie was there at the beginning of whatever set these current events in motion. That has to narrow down our search."

"Yes Oncle," Vivienne says obediently. "I have had everyone going through our systems; we have found nothing to indicate we have been breached. We will continue to look. I will have answers for you on the other matter as soon as possible. I thought you would find it interesting that a charge was recently declined on your black AMEX. It seems Pam was trying to book a flight to Europe."

Eric's anger increases as he realizes his errant progeny is indeed running. Before Eric can respond Vivienne continues quietly. "Rather than listen to her screaming and threatening me through the phone, I sent her an email letting her know the decision to revoke her access from all accounts and systems was by your authority. Once she read the email, I deleted her access to the email server as well," Vivienne says with a smirk. Vivienne has never been a fan of Pam. Like her maker, Vivienne thought Eric's eldest progeny was a spoiled, willful bitch that needed a reality check. Vivienne's disgust with Pam has only grown in the last decade. Pam has insulated Eric to the point that no one could get to him without going through her. And Eric through his indifference and growing sense of disillusionment had let her. As fucked up as it sounds, Vivienne is thankful that someone abducted Sookie. It has reanimated Eric, given him a purpose; he is the vampire that Vivienne remembered before the loss of Godric, Nora, and even Sookie, had shattered his psyche.

"I want her brought to me. Deploy everyone if you must, but I want Pam before me by sunset tomorrow!" Eric paces Fangtasia's floor in agitation; he has more important things to worry about than tracking down Pamela.

"I do not think it will take that long Oncle," Vivienne says confidently. "I am tracking her whereabouts using her phone. It seems she is moving closer to your location. If there is nothing else Oncle, I will be going. There is much to be done and little time to do it." Eric lowers the phone when the call with Vivienne ends. He continues to pace as his frustration mounts. Pamela as his progeny is supposed to be the one vampire he can rely on for everything. As her maker, Eric should have never needed to question her loyalty. But if Eric is completely honest with himself, Pamela has always been the puppet master in their relationship, even when she was human. Pam had forced his hand, slicing the arteries in her arms so he was forced to either turn her or let her bleed out. Eric had not been drawn to her as Godric had been drawn to him; Eric had not been drawn to Willa either. There has only been one human in his thousand years that he has felt the pull to be a maker with, but he lost that opportunity when he chose Pam over Sylvie in France. Pam had known that Eric was enthralled with Sylvie; she could feel all of his emotions in their bond. She must have known that he was contemplating turning Sylvie when she finished university. Is it possible that she orchestrated everything with Nan Flanagan, The Authority, and the Yakuza? Now that Eric finds himself in a similar situation again, he has to question why The Authority cared so much about his behavior in France. His vampire sister had been a Chancellor in The Authority; she would have warned him if he was on their radar. But he had heard nothing from Nora, and he had certainly heard nothing from Godric. In truth, what he had done with Sylvie was far less than what other vampires had done with their pets. Why was an example made of him? It doesn't add up. And then when you factor in Pam's behavior over the years towards Sookie . . . Eric is only now realizing how Pam has been sabotaging his happiness for nearly the last thirty years, if not longer.

The outside door to Fangtasia opens and Eric whips his head around to see who dares to walk in. A genuine smile splits Eric's mouth as Thalia walks in with her beloved katana strapped to her back. Eric remembers that Emperor Kogon of Japan gave the katana to Thalia in appreciation for her aid in seeing him succeed to the throne of the unified Northern and Southern courts during the Muromachi period. That katana has been with Thalia through every major battle she has fought for nearly eight hundred years. Seeing it attached to her back is reassuring to Eric; he needs her cool demeanor now more than ever. It goes without saying he wishes Godric were here; his maker would give him wise council as well as a savage warrior when the shit hit the fan.

"Geia palió fílo," Thalia greets Eric in her native tongue.

"Hello to you too my old friend," Eric greets her with all the respect that he would show his maker. He drops to his knees in a sign of respect and lowers his head.

"Stand up Eric," Thalia commands quietly. "You bow to no one Viking, not even me." Eric rises slowly to his feet, stretching to his full height. "That is better," Thalia says with satisfaction. She walks around the bar with a look of contempt on her face. "_This_ is where you have held court for the last fifteen years? I thought the video store was the most depressing thing I had ever seen, but this," she says as her eyes land on the throne. "How the fuck is it you haven't put a stake through your heart?"

"I've thought about it a time or two," Eric admits honestly. Thalia stares at him with unblinking eyes. What vampire hasn't thought about ending their existence? Immortality can wear you down after a while. "Where is Freyda?"

"She'll be along momentarily. She's dealing with the luggage," Thalia answers nonchalantly. Eric raises an eyebrow in question. Other than the katana, Thalia has never traveled with any kind of baggage before. She doesn't like to be weighted down.

The door to Fangtasia opens again and Freyda walks in dragging something behind her. Eric cannot see what is behind her from his current position, but he knows it is something wrapped in silver; he smells the metal in the air and sees the gloves Freyda wears to cover her hands. Freyda walks purposefully to the middle of the dance floor, dragging her bundle behind her. Freyda drops the heavy chains and strides forward to greet me.

"Hello Eric. Look what I found lurking around the airport," Freyda says gleefully.

Wrapped in heavy silver chains, with a silver gag in her mouth, is my wayward progeny, Pamela.


	7. The Basement

"Eric? What would you like Freyda to do with her?" Thalia's quiet accented voice brings Eric out of the contemplative state he had fallen in. His eyes had been transfixed on the sight of his first progeny bound by silver on the floor of his club. Pam's eyes had pleaded with him over the gag that held the silver in place over her mouth. A part of Eric had worried that when it came time to actually punish Pam that he wouldn't be able to do it; that the love he felt for his progeny would stay his hand or force him to have someone other than himself to punish her. Looking at her shackled body, with the smell of burnt flesh tainting the air and wisps of smoke rising from her charred flesh, Eric felt nothing. There was no longer any love for Pamela. In her attempts to kill his love for Sookie, she had inadvertently killed the love her maker had felt for her.

"Take her to the basement," Eric says with no emotion in his voice. "You will find shackles down there to secure her to my wheel of doom. Remove the gag from her mouth. I need answers to my questions; she cannot give them to me if she no longer has a tongue."

Freyda hoists Pam's struggling body in her arms and strides to the door leading to the basement. She may have accidentally allowed Pam's head to hit the wall and the door in her hurry to carry out Eric's instructions. Thalia watches as Eric moves in the opposite direction her progeny has taken. He walks down the hallway to his office. Once inside, he goes to the refrigerator and pulls ten bags of donor blood out. His fangs puncture the plastic bag on one of the cold bags as he places five bags in the microwave to heat up. He drains the bag of cold blood quickly, tossing the empty bag to the side before puncturing a second bag of blood as he waits for the microwave to ding. Once the microwave finishes, he replaces the warmed bags with the cold ones and presses the express button to heat the blood for one minute. He drains the five bags just as the microwave dings again. With all the bags drained, Eric's cheeks are flushed with so much color one would think he was wearing blush. He feels overly full, and it feels as if his stomach is sloshing as he walks.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Thalia blocks the entrance of Eric's office, preventing him from leaving the room. "I know she deserves everything you have planned for her, but it does not have to be by your hand. Freyda and I will handle this for you." Thalia knows how painful this will be for Eric. She had been forced to punish Freyda when she was a young vampire. It had been nowhere near as drastic as what Eric will be doing to Pam, and Freyda had deserved it, but that didn't make it any easier to handle the pain, hurt, and sorrow that she could feel coming from her beloved child. That one experience had been enough to where Freyda had never disobeyed her again, and for that Thalia was thankful. Her punishing Freyda had possibly hurt her more than it had hurt her child.

"I appreciate the offer, but it has to be me," Eric says firmly. "I have let Pam have her way for far too long. She needs to know that her actions have consequences. And I think she knows more than what I have been able to gather. She will tell me everything she knows," Eric finishes ominously. Thalia nods her head in understanding and backs up so that Eric can pass by. His heavy strides echo in the stillness of the bar, and each step taken down the stairs to the dark basement has a sense of finality to it.

Freyda stands off to the side of the room, her eyes fixed on the debacle that is Sarah Newlin. The stench of bile, urine, and feces hangs in the air. It seems no one has seen to Mrs. Newlin's needs since Eric stormed out of Fangtasia learning of Pam's betrayal. When she had been abducted in Dallas ten years ago, that had been the start of her psychotic break. She saw visions of all the dead men she had fucked in her life trying to get ahead. Her madness had only deepened over the decade that Pam had kept her shackled in the basement. She was forever in her own reality where she was taunted by her dead ex-husband. You would think being a captive for ten years would have destroyed Sarah Newlin's body, but thanks to regular infusions of vampire blood and a workout routine that Pam oversaw, she was still as fit and trim as the day she had been captured. Pam had been selling an experience when she was selling Sarah Newlin's blood; those that were willing to pay to drink the Hep V cure straight from the source expected to see the annoyingly perky blonde with a shapely body. Pam showcased the shapely body in different lingerie outfits, making it easier for the paying customers to drink the blood from whatever artery they chose.

Eric stares with antipathy at Sarah Newlin, a reminder of everything he has lost and everything that he hates. In actuality, he has not seen Sarah Newlin in years though he has sat above this very basement nearly every night. Eric had wanted no part of selling Sarah Newlin's blood to the highest bidder. He wholeheartedly believed that she deserved to suffer for her crimes; she deserved to suffer for her role in the True Deaths of Godric and Nora as well as his near demise from the Hepatitis V infection. The problem was that he never knew how he wanted to make her suffer. Killing her would have been too quick, too easy. Depriving her of her freedom and the right to an existence seemed like a just punishment in Eric's eyes, but he had wanted nothing to do with the day-to-day responsibilities that came with having a prisoner. Ginger had been glamoured to handle those responsibilities. As for exacting physical punishment on Sarah, Eric couldn't find it in himself to do it. It's not that she didn't deserve it; she had enjoyed inflicting pain on the incarcerated vampires in Burrell's Vamp Camp and more than one vampire had met their True Death as a result of her punishments. Eric could never explain to Pam why he'd never tortured Sarah, because he didn't understand it himself.

"It seems you have quite the collection of blondes in your basement. I've never been happier to be a brunette," Freyda says cheekily. Eric's eyes flicker to her briefly before resting on Sarah Newlin again.

"Have you come to finally kill me?" Sarah's voice is hopeful and fearful at the same time. Her body trembles, whether from fear or the damp chill in the air, Eric does not know nor does he care.

"Yes," is all he says and Sarah lowers her head in resignation as tears fall from her eyes. Ever the hospitable host, Eric offers Thalia and Freyda a chance for some refreshment

"I'd rather drink the blood of a dead pig before I put any part of her in my mouth," Thalia spits out venomously. Freyda nods her head to signify she feels the same as her maker.

Eric advances on Sarah slowly, allowing the enormity of her imminent death to fully sink in to her consciousness. Sarah falls to her knees, crying as she recites the Lord's Prayer. Eric stops in front of her, waiting for her to finish her recitation. When she says "Amen" Eric twists her head in his hands, snapping her neck. Sarah slumps to the floor, her lifeless eyes staring at Pam's shackled body.

Eric turns to face Pam, her eyes filled with fear as she realizes she will receive no mercy from her maker. She tries to reason with him, say anything that will get her out of this situation, but he backhands her to silence her. The force of his blow sends her head bouncing into one of the steel rods she is tethered to. He hit her so hard that her fangs pierced her tongue, filling her mouth with blood. Eric grabs her roughly by her hair, dragging her head up so she can see the murderous intent in his eyes.

"You will tell me everything I want to know. No more lies. Nothing will save you this time," Eric says coldly. Pam whimpers as he shoves her head away from him. Walking to the wall near the stairs, Eric presses on one of the concrete cinder blocks. The block slides out of the way to show a hidden mechanism. Eric presses the button and waits as the wall slides back revealing a hidden shelf holding daggers, pincers, pliers, clamps, and various other items that can be used to inflict an incredible amount of pain on the body. Pam begins to struggle in earnest as Eric slips on a pair of black leather gloves.

"As you can see, I had some improvements done to the basement after we had the fire damage from dealing with Mr. Gus and the rest of the Yakuza. This will be the first time I get to use these items. I wouldn't want you to think I'm using inferior items on you. You've always demanded the best after all," Eric says hollowly as he selects a few instruments from the shelf and walks back to her. Freyda, who is still wearing her gloves, steps forward, offering to hold the silver items that Eric won't be using, so that he can use both hands for whatever it is he has planned.

"Thank you Freyda," Eric says politely. He hands her everything except for a serrated silver dagger. The cold mask of indifference is back on his face as he begins to systematically cut the clothes from Pam's body. One of the most effective weapons at the disposal of someone inflicting torture on another being is humiliation. Eric knows that Pam will know all of his techniques when it comes to torturing someone; he did teach her everything he knows in this regard. However, Pam has never experienced it for herself. Eric knows that Pam is a very vain, proud person and having her body bared like this with others she will consider inferior present will be a great humiliation to her. He is not careful with the blade, cutting into Pam's flesh several times as he removes every item of clothing from her body, including her shoes, leaving her naked as newborn baby.

"Before we go any further, I will ask you my first question. Sookie came to you less than a week ago, indicating that someone had watched her for several days. You turned her away, saying it wasn't 'your fucking problem'. Do you know who it was? Is it someone you are working with?" Pam stares at Eric indignantly, refusing to answer his questions. "You think I won't hurt you because you are my child," Eric says softly when Pam continues to say nothing. "But there is something you fail to understand child. I am your maker; I can do whatever I want with you. You will talk; you will tell me everything I want to know. Whether it is tonight or a month from now, I will know everything; the only thing that will change between now and then is the amount of pain you will suffer." With the skill of a practiced surgeon, Eric begins slicing off bits of Pam's flesh as she cries out pitifully. To make sure the flesh will not heal, Eric lays the flat edge of the blade against the wound, cauterizing the skin so it cannot stitch itself back together. A pile of flesh lies in ribbons at Eric's feet. He stops after removing a strip of skin from the underside of Pam's left arm, inspecting the fileted skin. "I have taken a pound of flesh from your body. Perhaps you will now answer my earlier questions." Pam stubbornly refuses to answer, which causes Eric to chuckle humorlessly. "So stubborn; I used to admire that trait in you, thinking it endearing because you were steadfast in your devotion to me. Now I find it tiresome; the only one that suffers through all of this is you. I feel nothing."

Two hours later, Eric, Thalia, and Freyda walk out of the basement of Fangtasia. In two hours, Pam had given up nothing of use. The only words she had spoken were pleas for Eric not to do this to her, that everything she did was for him. He had not thought she would give everything up easily, but it may take longer to break her than he has time for.

"Do you really think she had anything to do with this Sookie's disappearance?" Freyda had watched silently as Eric removed the epidermis from more than 75% of Pam's body. Once he had finished, he disappeared from the basement, the sound of running water indicating that he was at the bar above them. He had returned with a large bucket of water, where he poured a bottle of silver body glitter. Eric had ordered Thalia and Freyda to stand on the stairs and then he proceeded to splash the silvery water on Pam's body, the water acting as an adhesive so that the glitter would stick to her skin, preventing her from healing during the day. Watching Eric work had been a thing of art, and Pam's body was his canvas.

"I don't think so," Eric says with a sigh. "I received a phone call from Sookie's captor this morning actually. He said that he wanted me to lose everything I cared about before he ended my existence. Pam wouldn't be involved in a plan that was engineered to hurt me."

"Then why torture her? She's not going to be able to give you any information. End her once and for all," Thalia says angrily. "Pam is a distraction you do not need now; you need to be focused on finding Sookie."

"Find her how Thalia?" Eric whirls around to face the woman that he has often viewed as the mother figure he lost when his human mother was brutally murdered by Edgington's wolves. "There are absolutely no clues to who have taken her. I have no idea if she is in this realm or another. I have all of my contacts around the world combing for some sign of Sookie. But I have nothing, NOTHING, to go on," Eric says with barely controlled fury because of how impotent the entire situation makes him feel.

In an office somewhere not too far away, a TV shuts off as the person with the remote control chuckles with great mirth. "Oh my dear Eric, I shall enjoy watching you suffer. I have waited for this moment for years. It is true what they say; revenge is a dish best served cold." He begins chuckling again as he thinks of the next stage in his plan.


	8. Unexpected

Rising the next evening, Eric finds Thalia already dressed and waiting for him in the den area of his underground living quarters in a safe house not too far from the bar. She's quietly sharpening the blade of her katana, an act that is a comforting ritual. It is something that has not changed in the centuries she has had the blade. In a world that always forces them to adapt to the times, it is a small relief to still engage in the same process to sharpen and clean the blade of her trusted weapon. Eric can remember when he taught Thalia the ritual, just as his father had taught him. His father had said when he was a boy that he could not have a sword of his own until he proved he was capable of caring for the sword. Eric's father taught him that the relationship between a man and his sword was one of the most vital in his life. If a man cares for his sword, then the sword will never let the man down in battle. But if a man is careless with his blade, then it will not be as strong as needed in battle. Eric had thought his father's words foolish, but he had been too superstitious not to follow them. His sword has been by his side since he was a mortal; the blade as strong now as it ever was. The ancient Viking sword has never failed him in battle. Why begin to tempt fate?

"You will torture Pamela again this evening," Thalia states quietly as she continues to work the blade against the stone. One hundred strokes of the blade against the stone before she flips the blade to give the other side the same treatment. "She will not tell you anything; she believes she has done nothing wrong. Her obsession with you has always bordered on the fanatical. You punishing her now will not change it. End her quickly and be done with this madness," Thalia advises sagely.

"Do you know why I am punishing Pam? It is for more than keeping Sookie and me apart. It is because she has violated the sanctity of the maker/child bond. She has done things to hurt me that no child would ever consider doing," Eric says with fire. "She has manipulated me from the beginning. Because of her, I have lost Sylvie and now Sookie. She celebrates my pain because it means I am alone. Pam thinks she is the only being in my life I should care about." Eric's voice cracks as he continues. "Knowing Godric was my maker and that I suffered greatly . . . still suffer . . ." he takes a deep breath to regain his composure. "Pam would use Godric against me, saying as his child, I would have been willing to do anything for him, sacrifice anything for him; that is how she has always justified her behavior."

Thalia continues sharpening the blade of her cherished weapon. She has several bowls of water with different sized stones soaking in them; the different sizes of stone represent the different coarseness levels that are required to properly sharpen the katana. No further conversation occurs between the two vampires as Thalia works the blade. After she has finished caring for her katana, she returns it lovingly to its home. The straps of her scabbard slide in place over her arms, looking at home on her tiny body. Thalia places a hand on Eric's shoulder. "There is one fatal flow in her rationalization. You were willing to do anything for Godric to make him happy. And even though you knew it would hurt, you did not prevent him from achieving his lasting peace and happiness. You loved him enough to let him go. Pam has never been willing to make the same sacrifice for you." The ancient Greek vampire squeezes Eric's shoulder before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

With slow, measured steps, Eric walks down the stairs to the basement of Fangtasia. The club is closed indefinitely until everything is sorted out. It was also a necessary measure to keep others away from Pamela. Eric's own security people watched the building today, making certain that no one during the day comes to her aid. Who knows the extent of her manipulations and lies?

Not surprising, Pam is hanging exactly where he left her. Blood continues to trickle down her body due to most of her injuries not having the chance to heal. It is an hour past sunset, but Pam has not risen for the evening. There is nothing Eric can do but wait for her to rise. Millions of thoughts continue to plague him, equal parts of despair because he has no idea who may have Sookie and grief because of his progeny's betrayal. Thalia's words from earlier continue to haunt him as well. Yes, he has threatened to end Pamela, but can he actually bring himself to do it? Even if he feels no affection for her now, the magic that connects a maker and child is still present. If he had been devastated by the loss of his maker, what additional pain will the loss of his child cause him? Eric has already lost too much; how much more can he be expected to stand? Even Atlas was forced to his knee because of the weight of the world on his shoulders…

Pam says nothing when she rises for the evening, wanting to delay any further punishment her maker feels the need to dole out. She is furious with Eric; how dare he punish her for doing what's best for him? All she has ever done has been to look after him, to protect him from those that are unworthy of his time and attention. So what if the fucking fairy had been taken? She was like a cancer; you could treat the disease, beat it so that it went away, but after a few years it would pop up again far worse than it ever was before. Pam had done what was necessary; in the few years Sookie Stackhouse had been in their lives, Eric had almost met the True Death more than any time during the hundred years Pam had been by his side. If anyone should be punished in all of this, it should be Sookie. Pam hopes whoever took the troublesome bitch finally kills her.

"What a pair we make," Eric finally says softly to fill the silence. "I know I could continue torturing you for hours, days even, and still you will tell me nothing. You are steadfast in your belief that the only person in my life I need is you. For years, I catered to your every wish, because I thought you deserved to be rewarded for your loyalty to me and because I wanted to make up for the less than perfect life you had as a human. I was wrong to do that, because you weren't loyal to me. The only one you have ever been loyal to is yourself. I should never have turned you," Eric says bitterly.

"You don't mean that," Pam says as blood tears fall from her eyes. Her face contorts as she cries brokenly at her beloved maker's harsh words. "You are my maker; I love you. Everything I have ever done has been for you!"

"SILENCE!" Eric roars as his anger, frustration, and heartbreak overtake him. He topples the table holding all of his instruments of torture, sending items flying through the air and scattering along the cement floor. "You forced my hand that night in San Francisco; I never would have turned you. I was intrigued by you, but nothing more; I did not feel the pull to make you my child. Once my lust and thirst had been slacked, I would have moved on. To be a maker is the greatest responsibility one could ever undertake. It is an obligation for eternity; something you seem to have forgotten when you became a maker," Eric says coldly as he turns his back on Pam.

"And what of you my darling maker," Pam says with all the sarcasm she can muster. How dare Eric bring up Tara? Pam regrets the loss of her progeny, not because she had genuine feelings for her, but because someone took away what was hers. "You made another child and left her to fend for herself the moment she rose a vampire. What the fuck makes you any better than me?"

"You're right," Eric says as he slowly turns to face her. "Both of my progeny were made for the wrong reasons, but at least Willa didn't manipulate me as you did. I will spend the rest of my existence trying to atone for my mistake when it comes to Willa," Eric says with absolute sincerity. For too long, the shame he has felt in regards to Willa has been a festering wound, becoming an infection that has spread throughout his psyche. He hopes in the time he has left, Willa may forgive him.

"Fuck you," Pam spits out. "Why is she more important to you then me? You are supposed to love me always! You betrayed me years ago with Sylvie, then Sookie, and finally Willa. You fucking owe me!" Pam struggles against her chains as she lashes out at Eric.

"Is that how you saw my relationship with Sylvie? A betrayal?" Eric vamps to Pam and grips her hair in his hand, forcing her head up so he can see the truth in her eyes. "It was you that called The Authority and the Yakuza. You wanted me all to yourself and thought Sylvie was taking me away from you." Pam says nothing, her eyes burning with hatred. But there had been a flicker of recognition in her eyes as Eric spoke, letting him know his words were true. "You knew I wanted to make Sylvie a vampire. She was the first, and only, human I have ever been drawn to in that way. You made me chose between the child I already had and the one I hoped to make. Why would you be so selfish as to deny me what makes me happy?"

"You didn't need her! You had me! _I'm_ the only one that will ever love you completely. Don't you understand that?" Pam wails pitifully. She is so far gone in her delusions that she cannot understand the harm she has done.

Eric releases Pam's head with a disgusted expression on his face. He walks away from her, trying to control the rage and hurt he has inside. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet and small, yet full of pain. "Do you know I still feel a phantom pain where the bond with her would have resided inside me? It aches just as the severed bond with Godric still aches. Pam scoffs, denying the truth of Eric's words. Her belittling his emotions infuriates him, and he lashes out by backhanding her across her face. The force of his blow is so great that the cheek bone and jaw shatter, causing her face to sink in unnaturally.

"But you don't fucking care about me, you never have," he spits out. "If you had, you never would have kept Sookie and me apart. You know I stayed in Shreveport to be near her; to be there if she ever needed me. Did you ever stop and think about what will happen when she dies? Do you honestly believe I would want to continue this existence of mine without the woman I love? Because I can promise you this Pamela," Eric vows and roughly grabs her by her broken jaw, digging his fingers in so that the bone is pulverized. "I will follow her to the afterlife. If she dies an unnatural death, I will remain long enough to see her avenged, but then I will follow her. I am nothing without her," he says wearily as he releases her jaw. He moves over to one of the walls, sliding down it until he sits on the cold, damp floor. His head rests between his hands in utter defeat.

Eric's words about ending his existence when Sookie dies startles Pam. "Eric, you don't know what you're saying! You've lived over a thousand years. How can you give all that up because of a human woman?"

Eric lifts his head to look at Pam. "If you truly loved me as much as you claim, you wouldn't have to ask me that question. You would know that when you find the one that is your other half, there is nothing you wouldn't do for them; their happiness is your own. I have been miserable these past ten years, growing more and more despondent. I have finally begun to understand how Godric felt at the end. I am so tired; there is no joy left in this world."

Silence engulfs them. Pam looks at Eric for a long time, seeing the truth of his words for the first time in a long time. He is still the same handsome, dashing vampire she met on the streets of the Barbary Coast, but his lust for life is gone. His eyes no longer sparkle as if he knows a secret that no one else does. He looks beaten and broken, barely hanging on by a thread. All of this because Sookie is missing? There has to be more to it than that. Of course, Pam being the selfish cunt she is thinks most of Eric's pain comes from having to punish her. Perhaps if she plays nice, Eric will forgive her.

"I'm sorry Eric," Pam mumbles humbly. "I never meant to hurt you; I was only trying to protect you. You lose your head when Sookie is involved. I didn't want you to end up meeting your True Death because of all the danger that surrounds her. I know I messed up, but I want to make it up to you both. Let me go so I can help you find her. You need someone to watch your back." Pam's impassioned speech is worthy of an Academy Award; she uses every inch of her acting ability to inject sincerity, concern, and humility in her speech. Inside she is already plotting ways to make the telepath have an "accident" once she is rescued. Pam doesn't believe for a second that Eric will end his existence. Vampires grow more protective of their existence the longer they are around; the feeling is based on both fear and arrogance.

Eric rises gracefully to his feet and glides to Pam. She lowers her head as a sign of deference, but really it is to hide the gleam of triumph in her eye. She knew Eric would forgive her! She knew he couldn't stand the idea of hurting her.

"You are right Pam. I need a vampire I can trust beside me," he says tonelessly.

Pam nods to show her agreement. "You taught me the only vampire you can trust is the one you make," she says with her head still bowed. Her hair has fallen around her face, acting as a curtain so Eric is unable to see the manic smile on her face as she thinks she has won.

"Yes," Eric says simply. With a heavy sigh, he leans down to brush his lips against her head, a sign of affection that he has always bestowed on her. Pam's joy spreads to every inch of her body as she feels her maker's lips on her skin. When Eric pulls back from Pam, she raises her head to smile beautifully at him.

And that is how she misses the stake that Eric shoves through her heart.

In a broken whisper, he tells her. "Unfortunately, I can no longer trust you."

Pam's expression becomes a combination of horror and betrayal as she realizes what her maker has done. She tries to scream Eric's name but her body explodes, sending blood, entrails, and slop all over Eric, the walls, and the floor.

Eric stares at the mess on the floor for a long time. He had felt when the magic of his bond with Pam had been violently yanked out of him, and the pain was so great that it nearly brought him to his knees. But he refused to give in to the pain; he refused to allow Pam to hurt him anymore.

His feet automatically carry him up the stairs to the main part of the bar. Thalia and Freyda are waiting at a table; both vampires in downtime. One vampire he wasn't expecting paces frantically in front of the stage.

"Willa? What are you doing here? Has something happened to Sookie's son?" Eric vamps to Willa's side, worried that something else has happened.

"Jesus, what the fuck happened to you?" Willa stares in horror at her maker, worry for him seeping through even though she tries so hard to keep her indifference to him. She can tell he is hurting deeply and wants nothing more than to comfort him.

"I staked Pam," Eric utters quietly.

Willa's eyes widen at the enormity of his words and she stares with an open mouth. Eric remains rigid and stoic. "I am so sorry Eric," Willa finally offers compassionately. "I don't know the words to say in a situation like this."

"There is nothing to say; it's over." Eric brushes aside the death of his eldest progeny. Talking about it will only distract him. Eric needs to focus on getting Sookie back. "Why are you here Willa?"

"Jason finally got in touch with Niall," Willa says with a touch of excitement. "He said Niall already knew of Sookie's disappearance and that he has been working to trace her. Niall cannot pinpoint Sookie's location, but he knows she is still alive. He has some way of tracking his family members," Willa says with relief. She has been so worried for her friend and has tried so hard to keep it together for the sake of Sookie's son. To Willa, Sookie is a mother, sister, and friend all rolled in one. Sookie and her son Eric are the two most important people in Willa's existence; she will do anything for them.

Relief sweeps through Eric's body and he sinks down in a chair because the feeling leaves him unsteady. "What do we need to do?"

Before Willa can answer, Eric's phone rings. His moment of relief is gone as he sees that it is a blocked number again. He fears the voice on the other end may be the same one to taunt him the other morning. He indicates the others are to stay quiet as he puts the phone on speaker. "Northman," he snarls.

"Eric, we've found something." Vivienne's soothing French tone eases the tension that had risen in Eric's body.

"What is it Vivi?"

"I had the team look into all the names you sent me that could be linked to you and Sookie. The Newlins' were a dead-end; there are no surviving family members for either of them. Same goes for the necromancer."

"You said you had something for me? So far, all I'm hearing are dead ends," Eric says curtly.

"There are only two possibilities out of everyone on the list that still have ties on this Earth. Both of them are in Nevada. One is Long Shadow's maker, Hot Rain; the other is Felipe de Castro, Russell Edgington's progeny."


	9. Caught Between a Rock and Hard Place

"I can't believe he did it!" The male vampire shuts off the video feed and spins his office chair to face his captive audience. Sookie sits in an overstuffed chair unrestrained yet there is something they keep injecting in her that makes her body sluggish and unresponsive; something that also hinders her ability to call forth the light inside her to defend herself. However, it does not interfere with her mental abilities. She was fully aware of the scene she watched unfold on the television screen. It had broken her heart to see Eric end Pam, even if Eric was justified in his action. No matter what her personal feelings had been for Pam, Sookie had shed tears knowing that Eric must not only feel betrayed but desolate at having to kill the child that had been his constant companion for over a century. Willa is all he has left, and that relationship is pricklier than a porcupine rolling around in a field of cacti.

Somehow, her captor had managed to have surveillance inside Fangtasia. Actually she knows how it was done; the vampire in front of her likes to boast about how he has outsmarted the Viking for over a decade. When Eric and Pam had repaired Fangtasia's basement, one of the construction workers had been glamoured to install the electronic monitoring devices. The construction worker had been the pet of a vampire in his retinue. However, when the construction job was over, so too had the worker's usefulness; his body had been found in a single car crash outside of Monroe. Based on the alcohol level in his blood and the lack of skid marks on the highway, it had been ruled an accident. Vampires have been become increasingly adept at hiding their murderous ways as the vampire in front of her has bragged more than once, though he specified that by the time they were done with her, nothing would be left for anyone to identify.

"Things are moving along quite nicely if I do say so myself," the vampire grins at her engagingly. "A bit faster than expected, but that is of no consequence. Though the Prince of the Fae has thrown a wrench in my plans, but it is not the first time I have squared off against him over the centuries. Things will slow down shortly when he comes to Nevada. I wonder if the Viking will be as bold as he was when he entered Mississippi to hunt down Compton or if he will try a stealthier approach this time. After all, you are much more valuable to him as he just proved by killing his own child. It takes a special brand of monster to be able to do that." The vampire smiles sinisterly as his fangs drop. "I would know; I've done it a time or two over the years. You need to exercise a firm hand when dealing with your children, otherwise that," he says pointing at the now blank screen, "happens. When you make a child you think they will have such promise; it's disappointing to realize they were only good for a feed a fuck," he says with a dramatic sigh. He rises from his desk and approaches Sookie who shrinks back in her chair trying to avoid his touch. The vampire smiles again and licks his lips hungrily. "Now you," he says as trails his hand along her jaw line, lifting her hair away from her neck, "I'm sure would be an exceptional meal. And I'm sure you know a few tricks otherwise you wouldn't have been able to keep Compton and Northman panting after you for so long. It almost makes me consider trying you out myself." The vampire laughs seeing the fear blaze in Sookie's eyes. Yes, he knows all out her troubled past; it is just one of the things he will use against her while she is under his control. "You should be honored my dear; I haven't been with a woman in centuries. Think of all the fun we could have." The vampire grips Sookie's hair painfully in his grasp, forcing her head to the side as his fangs inch closer to her neck. In her mind she is screaming in agony and despair, shouting with frustration that her body is unable to fight back. This is worse than anything Bartlett had ever done to her; even though she heard his depraved, twisted thoughts, she could still run away; she could fight back. But now she is powerless; a helpless victim.

"Victor," a quiet voice says with warning from the entrance to the room. The vampire that was on the brink of drinking from Sookie snaps to attention at the sound of his maker's voice, releasing his hold on his prey. "Miss Stackhouse is to remain untouched until the North Man arrives. The majority of my amusement in this situation comes from the fact that his imagination is spiraling out of control with all the possible ways we have hurt his beloved. There is no need to inflict physical injury upon her when the wonderful narcotic we have been supplied with does the job of keeping her docile. I really must thank Queen Mab for supplying me with that," the elder vampire chuckles as he notices Sookie's eyes widen in recognition.

"You, my dear, have made some very powerful enemies," Victor's maker says congenially as he walks in the room to lean against the edge of the desk in front of Sookie. "It is a rare thing for a full-blooded fairy to align with a vampire. Well, you know the reasons why," he says as he licks his lips hungrily in memory. "I must say I was surprised when the Queen sought me out to help her. She is desperate indeed, especially now that Niall has waged an all-out war against her. He's winning by the way, which is why Mab turned to me. She wants to use you against Niall; she mistakenly believes that he will be willing to give up control of the Fae realm to save you. I suppose the name 'Mad Queen Mab' is àpropos for her," he says chuckling again.

The elder vampire watches Sookie very closely. He can tell that she is fighting against the medication; there are minute muscle spasms around her mouth and fingers. He admires her courage . . . or is it foolishness? She is thousands of miles away from her home with no allies to speak of. The only hope of survival she has rests on a vampire that is outnumbered and outwitted at every turn. The North Man is fighting to catch up when this plan has been in development since Sookie Stackhouse returned from the Fae realm after escaping Queen Mab. The Queen wants the Fae-hybrid dead, and she has partnered with others that wish a similar fate. As for himself, he has no intentions of turning Sookie over to the mad queen; it will be such a waste not only of her blood but of her telepathy. Unlike the others before him, he has no intention of falling into a romantic entanglement with her. Nor does he wish to own her like a slave. He prefers a business arrangement between the two of them, one that will be mutually beneficial to them both.

"Victor leave us," the elder vampire commands quietly. Victor looks to protest, but a single admonishing glance from his maker has him bowing his head before hastily retreating from the room.

"You are in quite the pickle my dear," the elder vampire says as he sits in the matching chair next to Sookie. She can tell by the size of his void that he is an older vampire; not nearly as old as Russell Edgington had been, perhaps closer in age to Godric. Of course, his physical looks are no help in determining his age. As with most of the vampires she has met, this vampire was turned in the prime of his life. His hair is artlessly styled; the clothes he wears fit his body perfectly and seem to be of the finest quality. He looks like an investment banker on Wall Street.

"You will have to forgive Victor," the vampire says with a flicker of his gaze towards the door. "My child has always been eager to further his standing in life, and he believes that aligning with the King of Nevada will give him that chance. I do not share his vision; de Castro has never been loyal to anyone save himself. It is a dangerous situation for you that Mab and de Castro have aligned with each other. The Queen, well, we know what her intentions are. She provided us with the drug that runs through your system. Mab calls it 'The Living Death'; your mind is fully functioning and you are completely aware of your surroundings yet your body is unresponsive. I believe it is the opposite of being roofied."

"As for de Castro, did you know that his maker was Russell Edgington?" At Sookie's slight noise of protest, the vampire begins to chuckle. "I'll take that as a no. I'm sure you can understand why he has a bone to pick with both you and the North Man. Not that I fault either of you for ending him. There were many times I thought about ending him over the years; Godric and I came close once upon a time in Scandinavia. It was before Godric turned the Viking." The vampire chuckles again as he hears the faint protest from Sookie.

"Let me tell you a story my dear Miss Stackhouse," he says with a roguish wink. "You seem like you will be a captive audience."

_This is beyond fucked up._ Sookie sits inside her "cell", a room that is more opulent than any five-star resort. When she had been abducted from her home in Louisiana, she'd been certain this was the end. How many times can one person escape death? Her main concern had been to keep her son safe, a goal she had accomplished . . . For now at least. Sookie had vowed that when she decided to have a child that her child would not grow up unaware of his surroundings. There are very real monsters in this world and Sookie made sure early on that her boy knew how to protect himself as best he could. He would never be taken advantage of as she had been.

The struggle that had occurred inside her home had been the only time that Sookie had been injured since being taken. Once the Weres had captured her, she had been sedated while they traveled. The only reason she knew she was outside of Las Vegas was because of the thoughts of one of her guards letting her know that he needed to get to Mandalay Bay to place his money on the UFC fight before it happened. Looking outside the window of her prison only confirmed that they were in the middle of the desert with nothing but cacti nearby. Other than her imprisonment, the only complaint she had was the drug they kept injecting into her system. If she can believe the one-sided conversation she had just listened to, then tonight's injection had been the last one she will be subjected to.

_Can I really trust him?_ Sookie is torn. If this vampire truly desires to help her, then why did he let his progeny taunt her so? Why didn't he prevent de Castro, Mab, and the others from abducting her? If he wanted to help Eric, why not go to him and tell him about the plot against him? Sookie knows that the vampire had told her about his history with Godric to gain her trust, but all it did was make her more suspicious.

_What the fuck am I gonna do? _

Felipe de Castro, the King of Nevada, sits in his private suite at the top of his hotel and casino in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. He managed to take over Nevada around the time crime families began taking an interest in the Spartan desert. They had needed money to turn the barren desert into an oasis, and he had provided that. He'd been here to see it all; he was the one constant among the ever-changing landscape in Sin City. Felipe is extremely proud of his accomplishments in Las Vegas and oversees the running of the city himself. The rest of the state he lets his sheriffs handle; he has no interest in the barren wasteland other than maybe Reno. Felipe de Castro is enamored with the glitz and glamour that surrounds him and since vampires have announced their presence to the humans, he is treated like a celebrity. The rich and famous flock to his hotels and casinos; the paparazzi follow his every move to see who is with him, what he's wearing, and where he is going. Felipe de Castro has been a master at perfecting his brand, and he has furthered his reputation with the public by having a reality show on E! His reality show, _Blood and Sin_, has aired on the entertainment network for five years, and is the highest rated program in the network's history. You would think he would be happy with his existence.

But he isn't.

He isn't the most famous vampire in the world. That title rests with Eric Northman, his arch nemesis. The Viking doesn't know de Castro views him as his arch nemesis, but that will soon change. Felipe is a very jealous person; he cannot stand that anyone is viewed as more important than him; he needs to be the best at everything. But his hatred for the North Man runs deep.

It's not that de Castro had a deep love for his maker; in fact, he hated Russell Edgington. Edgington had turned de Castro because he and Talbot had desired to have a plaything of their own that was more durable than a human. As a maker, Russell had been especially cruel, forcing de Castro to service both himself and Talbot for centuries. Felipe never appreciated the sexual advances of men, always preferring women, but that didn't matter to Russell or Talbot. It wasn't until the 1800s that Russell had released de Castro and it was all thanks to a temper tantrum Talbot had thrown because someone had "accidentally" broken a Ming vase that had been the focal point of the décor in the foyer. Russell had offered to punish de Castro for the infraction, but Talbot wanted him banished from his sight. To appease the vampire he loved, Russell had released Felipe and banished him from the state of Mississippi without a penny to his name. Felipe didn't care; he was free! Using the ruthlessness that his maker had taught him, he worked his way up among the ranks of vampires until he was able to take over the state of Nevada. Felipe became one of the wealthiest vampires in the United States thanks to the casino business. And he relished his existence.

That is until his maker had to go and fuck everything up.

Russell Edgington murdering the news broadcaster on live television had destroyed Felipe's high life. His casinos became silent; the hotels were ghost towns. Felipe cursed his maker's foolhardy action; while he didn't believe that humans were his equal, he wasn't of the opinion of subjugating them like his maker. After all, humans made him rich. Who was going to spend money in his casinos if humans were treated as nothing more than slaves? Felipe cursed his maker for his idiocy. He didn't know what had happened to set his maker off, nor did he care. Because the bond between them was broken, Felipe could sense nothing of his maker's whereabouts or his emotional state. To be honest, Felipe preferred it that way. But then came news that Russell Edgington had been vanquished. Nan Flanagan went on a blitzkrieg; any and every news platform she used to tell the world that Russell Edgington was a madman, a terrorist that had acted of his own accord. His behavior did not reflect the mentality of all vampires. Felipe had mixed feelings about Nan's propaganda campaign; on the one hand, Russell had given the gift of eternity to him; he would be nothing more than a pile of bones in a cemetery if he had remained human. On the other hand, he hated his maker for making him nothing more than a sex slave for centuries. Russell and Talbot had forced Felipe to debase himself in ways no one would ever imagine.

It took time, but people slowly returned to his casinos and hotels. Of course, he had to offer huge incentives to get people to come back. Felipe cursed his maker for fucking up his cash cow. He further damned his maker when he learned Nan Flanagan had lied about Russell's death. Not only was Russell on the loose, slaughtering humans and leaving the evidence for others to find, but he had contacted Felipe.

Standing in Felipe's office, with the Las Vegas Strip as his backdrop, Russell had the gall to ask him for asylum since he was persona non grata in Louisiana. Felipe had denied him; he didn't want his crazy maker anywhere near him or his empire. Felipe had braced himself for Russell's attack, knowing that the elder vampire could easily hurt him. But Russell surprised him; instead of attacking, he had laughed. It was a sound of deep amusement, like he knew a joke that no one else did.

And the joke was on Felipe.

Rather than attack or use force, Russell had an ace in the hole, one that literally brought Felipe to his knees and rendered him mute. As Russell gleefully explained to Felipe, he had never released him; the words he had used did not sever the maker/child bond. Rather than dissolve their bond, Russell had completely shut down his side. The sensation Felipe had felt with Russell's words had been a burst of pain that Russell had sent before closing the bond. Felipe wept blood tears as Russell defiled his body, using it any way he wanted to bring himself pleasure while humiliating Felipe. The only saving grace was that Russell only stayed a night before returning to Louisiana to hunt for fairies. However, that one night inflicted enough damage on Felipe that it took him nearly six months to heal. There was only one thought that sustained him while he was healing from the wounds to his body.

Destroy Eric Northman.

Russell had bragged that he'd escaped the concrete grave the Viking had committed him to and then bested him again when they were both at The Authority's compound. Russell's second piece of business after hunting for fairies was to end Eric Northman once and for all. Russell had sneered while talking about how everyone at The Authority had accepted his bullshit speech about bygones. Felipe's maker gleefully spoke of how he was going to drain Northman's fairy in front of him and then make him suffer for a year in retribution for taking Talbot from him. Felipe of course had been the one to pay the price as Russell had demonstrated only a portion of what his plan for the Viking was.

It didn't matter that Felipe finally felt Russell Edgington meet the True Death. To be honest, he considered it a great insult to learn that Northman was the one to end his maker. If Northman had done what he was supposed to the first time, then Felipe would have never experienced pain and humiliation at the hands of Russell again. It is for this reason alone that Felipe has sworn vengeance on the Viking.

So when Mab approached Felipe with his plan, he readily accepted. Felipe could care less about what happened to the Fae hybrid; she was a means to an end for him. And that ending was Eric Northman losing everything he loved before meeting his True Death at the end of Felipe's stake.

It is with all of this swirling in his mind that Felipe dials the number for Eric's cell phone. Based on the surveillance footage he had seen earlier, he knows the Viking and his people have figured out that he is involved with the plot that abducted the telepath from her home. He isn't overly concerned about that; it would be a suicide mission for the Viking to attack him in Las Vegas. His security is tighter than Fort Knox thanks to the use of Weres, witches, Fae, and vampires. What does concern him is the fact he has not heard from Mab. As per their protocol, Felipe had informed her when the Weres had abducted Sookie Stackhouse from her home. Felipe was supposed to arrange for the Stackhouse woman to be transported to Nevada, where Mab was going to take her off his hands. But his efforts to contact Mab have been met with silence. When he had called at the start of the evening, instead of getting her voice mail, he had to listen to a message indicating the voice mail box was full. What the fuck could have happened to the mad Fae queen?

Felipe is surprised that he has to wait for the Viking to answer his cell phone. Normally the Viking answers within the first three rings. Felipe glances at the time, wondering if the elder vampire has gone to his daytime rest. Despite the time difference, it is not yet sunrise in Louisiana so what is preventing the Viking from answering his call? Unless he is on his way to Nevada . . . Northman would not be able to answer his phone if he were on a plane.

"Very well Viking," Felipe says evilly as the call ends. "You think you can come to my territory and challenge me. Give it your best shot."


End file.
